Pepperwood – The Grimwold Case
by RayKay72
Summary: The Zombie Days are long gone, but private eye Julius Pepperwood can't let go. Can his quirky sidekick Jessica Knight bring him back to the light? A look inside the head of Nick Miller, zombie detective novelist, and how his friends inspire his creation. Disclaimer: I do not own New Girl, Julius Pepperwood, Jessica Knight or the Bears. Story is now COMPLETE.
1. The Zombie Days

The sharp clink of glass knocking against the solid wood of his desk jarred Julius Pepperwood awake. He peeled open his blood-shot eyes to see the last splash of Jack Daniels spill onto the mahogany surface.

"Geez," moaned Pepperwood, trying to lift his head from his arms, stiff with a night of sleeping on them. "Feels like someone is doing the meringue on my temples." He squeezed his eyes against the bright shafts of light that poured through the blinds hanging precariously on the window. He sighed. _Morning always comes too soon_, he thought and eased himself out of his desk chair.

Rubbing the scruffy stubble on his chin, Julius considered shaving as he made his way to the small sink in his office. Captain Aumua would be expecting him for a debriefing today. Glancing in the cracked mirror, he took in his reflection. "Looking good, Julius," he snarled, and pulled his hand through his tangle of thick, brown hair. His swollen eye was starting to fade to the customary black, while the cut on his forehead would probably leave another scar on his already battered face. _Might as well leave the beard,_ he thought. _Why mess with the look? _It had not been a pretty night for the zombie private detective.

The Zombie Days had not been what anyone expected. It hadn't come down in a plague or infection. The zombie virus had been cooked up in a pristine lab – an accident that some genius thought could make him a lot of money. Julius had been at ground zero of the beginning of the Zombie Days, working as a beat cop near Caroline Labs in Chicago. At first, the calls just sounded like the regular kooks seeing things out their windows. Until Julius and his partner Winnie had seen it all with their own eyes.

They sure looked like something out of the movies, but it didn't matter who these zombie bit. Nope, it was only through injection that a person could get infected. Julius had seen it himself. One quick shot and the vic began the slow and hellish descent into zombieville.

Julius turned on the tap, and the water slowly consented to squeak out of the pipes. He splashed cold water on his face and cringed as it hit his wounds. The sting brought a hitch to his breath, but he poured another on for good measure before he grabbed the towel on the nearby rack and wiped the water dripping from his face.

In the old days, Julius and Winnie knew they were way over their heads, but still decided they had to try and stop the head of Caroline Labs. The actually cornered the guy, who Julius considered as close to a mad scientist as he'd ever come. He'd not only manufactured the virus, but the antidote to go along with it. He figured he's sell the drug to the highest bidder, then charge the other side even more for the antidote. _Freakin' brilliant_, Julius thought.

Of course, at the last minute, the feds swept in, and the guy got away. The feds worked to cover up the "incident," but now it seemed any kid with a smart phone could find a way to access the formula. Once the zombie cat was out of the bag, small cadres of them began to show up here and there. Someone was always trying to create a zombie army, or infect a city water supply. The feds asked Julius and Winnie to join them, and for five years they hunted down wayward zombie juice makers and distributors, and cleaned up the mess they left behind. The worst of it had come a few years ago, when a couple of nutjobs down South decided to expand their Hatfield-McCoy personal vendetta by infecting an entire town and having them battle it out. It was like a mini-zombie apocalypse, and it had been enough for Julius. The memories he carried from those days still haunted him.

Though Winnie opted to stay with the feds, Julius decided to crawl back home to the darker streets of Chicago – the same ones he'd fought so hard to escape all those years ago when he'd joined the police academy. These days, he took the scrap jobs Winnie got the feds to send his way – the small-time zombie juice mixers who weren't big enough for the feds to bother tracking down.

Julius leaned against the chipped sink. _They may be scrap jobs, but that doesn't mean they are easy_, he thought_._ Last night had been a doozy. Julius had to take out two hulking gorillas hopped up on a new version of the zombie cocktail that was being distributed as a steroid. The creator – a chemist kid who Julius was not sure if he wanted to drag to jail or take over his knee – had promised no zombie side effects, and some idiots were dumb enough to believe him. He pulled all three into the station last night, but had been too tired to fill out the usual paperwork.

Clenching the towel in his fist, Julius raised his eyebrows in question. His thin, frayed towel had been replaced with a soft, fluffy one. He cringed. Embroidered on the towel was a bright, orange flower. It was then he caught a whiff of strong coffee brewing in the main office. He pursed his lips and sighed, "Knight."

Striding out into the main office of Pepperwood Private Investigations, Julius took note of his surroundings. The usual room, which had been stark and plain – the way Julius liked it – had taken on a new feel. All along the walls were paintings in colorful hues, and on the few pieces of furniture in the office were vases, various plants and bright knick knacks. Julius had let all of that slide because she was good, got the invoices done, and generally stayed out of his way.

The "she" in question was sitting at her desk – Jessica Knight. Wrapped in one of her usual bright dresses and sweaters, Julius tried not to notice how they hugged her in all the right places. Of course, Knight's sunny demeanor offset any attraction Julius had for the petite woman. Heck, he had almost dismissed her outright when she came to apply for the job he described in his ad as a "Girl Friday." When she bounced into his office in a short shirt and legs that did not seem to end, Julius almost kicked her out. _You're gonna fall for this one_, he thought. Then she started talking, and the oddest stuff fell from her plump, red lips. _Hell_, _she even SANG her resume to me_, he laughed. He hired her on the spot, convinced she was the last woman who would ever entice him.

He might find her irritating, but she made a hell of a cup of coffee, and she put up with what he had been told was his less-than-pleasant demeanor.

Julius turned to Knight and was about to lecture her – again – on not disturbing the stuff in his office when he stopped. Something was not right. Her usual perky smile was not dancing on her lips, and her blue eyes were drained of their sparkle. _You're a crack PI, Pepperwood. Figure it out, _he hissed to himself, and watched as she dabbed a handkerchief along a streak of running mascara.

"What's with the waterworks, doll? Somebody die while I was passed out?" he asked.

Jessica jumped at the sound of his voice. "Oh, Mr. Pepperwood! I did not hear you. I'll get your coffee." She hurried to wipe the mascara from her cheek and launched herself from her chair, bumping into Julius. He caught her and held on for a moment longer than was probably necessary. A flash of what it might be like to really have her in his arms invaded his thoughts. She slowly raised those enormous blue eyes to his and gasped. "Mr. Pepperwood! What happened to you?" She gingerly touched his swollen face, and Julius jumped back as if she shocked him.

"It's nothing, doll," he said quickly. "The Griswold case is wrapped up. Get the invoice ready, will ya?" She nodded, though the look of concern remained in her gaze. Jess moved to pour him a cup of coffee in his favorite Bears mug, and Julius tried not to watch her walk across the small room. He glanced at her desk and noticed the picture of the latest boyfriend was gone. _What was his name? Stan? Sam? Some kind of doctor_, thought Julius. He heard the coffee splash into the mug and he snapped his attention back to her. "I'm meeting with Aumua today. Call him and let him know I'll be in around 10:30." He paused. "What time is it?"

"Almost 11 'o clock," she said, not turning to face him, though he could hear the indulgent smile in her tone.

He sighed. "Tell him I'll be there around 2."

She walked to him and nodded, handing him the cup of liquid heaven she created. He took a sip and sighed. "Great coffee, Knight."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, though he noticed it did not reach her eyes. "You want me to run to Lou's and get you some eggs?" she asked.

He coughed into his coffee. "Food before noon? Ya trying to kill me?"

Now she added a small laugh, and he thought he caught a bit of twinkle back into those blue eyes. "I've thought about it," she said softly.

Now he smiled. "Yeah? Well get in line." He turned back to his office, but paused. "If he dumped you, he's an _idiot_, doll." He barely heard her gasp as he closed his door.


	2. Nick Miller, zombie detective novelist

Nick Miller, zombie novelist extraordinaire, sat in his room with his blue trucker hat perched on his head in rally-cap mode. Nick did what any writer worth his salt would do in his position. He was spinning in his chair, chewing methodically on a pen cap.

"Hey doll," he mumbled to himself, then shook his head. "Admit it, Miller. You are stuck," he said with a sigh.

Hearing a light knock on his door, Nick remained seated and walked the rolling chair over to the door. When he opened it, he was greeted with the sight of Jess, his girlfriend – or whatever they were calling it – of just over a month. "Hey," he jumped off the chair. "I thought you were going to jump in the shower."

"Been there, washed that," she said with a wink.

Looking down at her light-blue dress, he smiled. "You look nice. You heading to work?" Even though Jess landed the job teaching junior high kids again, she still decided to keep her adult creative writing class for the summer, telling Nick she could not leave her adult writers "high and dry as an elephant's eye on the Fourth of July." Nick still was not sure what she meant.

"Yup, birds gotta sing, and this teacher has gotta to teach," she sang to him.

Nick shook his head. "You are so weird," he laughed.

"But I'm all yours," she added with a smile, and leaned up to kiss him. _Yeah, _Nick thought as he wrapped his arms around her, _I get to kiss Jessica goodbye when she heads to work. We're doing that now_.

"Sooooo," he said in a low voice as she reluctantly pulled away, "You gonna school me later, teach?"

"EW!" shouted Schmidt as he marched past them, heading for the bathroom with a basket of laundry. "Some of us have to LIVE here!"

Nick blew him a raspberry. "Go iron your underwear, Schmidt," he called.

Schmidt popped back into view and gave him an indignant look. "For your information, Nicholas, ironing is the best way to keep pantylines invisible in my high-end pants."

"Blah," yelled Nick. "Jar!" He chuckled as Schmidt ducked back into the bathroom.

Jess smiled. "Hey, Nick, have you seen my lesson plans for tonight's writing class?" Nick's eyes widened slightly and he shook his head, trying hard not to let his features fall into a turtle face. "Um, nope, no sir, no lesson plans here."

Jess peeked past him and glanced on his bed. "So those aren't my lesson plans on your bed?" she asked lightly.

Jumping back, Nick jogged to the bed. "Well, hey! Here they are. You must have left them here when you were grading, examining, writing the…here ya go, Jess."

Her brows furrowed. "Were you reading my lesson plans, Nick? Because you are welcome to read them."

Nick waved her away. "Nah, pfffpt." She gave him one last curious look and turned to go. "Um, Jess, just out of curiosity, if I DID see that, and maybe noticed a part where you might have mentioned drawing on your own personal experiences, was there ever a time when I cheered you up when a guy, maybe, dumped you? Like when I danced to Taylor Swift?"

One of Jess' eyebrows shot up. "Um, no Nick, you causing my break-up with Sam, and then dancing silly did not cheer me up, especially when you wanted to fist bump me," she said hotly.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, too soon," he admitted.

Jess stared at him for a moment, then offered a small smile. "Of course, there was time YOU caused me to break up with Paul when YOU told him I thought we were moving too fast." Nick closed his eyes tightly, trying not to relive his nightmare of being trapped on a balcony with Jess and Paul as they broke up. He scratched his ear. "Yeah, maybe I'm kind of your cooler, Jess."

Her smile widened and she placed a hand on his cheek. "But then you missed your flight home for Christmas to take me to Candy Cane Lane, and almost got arrested for waking everyone up at 2 a.m. so they would turn on their lights. And that, Miller, cheered me up." She kissed him gently. "You did something for me, and it made it better." Nick could only answer with a goofy grin.

"I gotta go," Jess said, and gave him one more quick kiss. "See you tonight."

Nick watched her go and thanked his lucky stars again that Jessica Day wanted to uncall it. He turned around and pulled the chair back to laptop. "So doll, how 'bout you come with me into the field today?" Nick said, pulling the bill of his hat forward again and hunkering over the keyboard.

_**A special thanks to Ztofan for suggesting I let the reader see how Nick it pulling some of these thoughts together as he writes Julius Pepperwood!**_


	3. Old Friends

Julius sat opposite Jessica in his favorite booth at Lou's. By this time of day, all the Route 66 tourists had cleared out, and he had a clear view of the citizens of the great city of Chicago hurrying past the windows. He leaned up against the faded wood of the wall.

He still wasn't sure what possessed him to ask Jessica to join him out in the field today. Julius stabbed his pile of eggs with a fork and shoveled it into his mouth. Something about the way she just sat at her desk, sniffling and looking all forlorn, rubbed Julius raw. He should have appreciated the break from singing and eternal sunshine, but instead he felt a growing desire to slug the guy who managed to un-cheer Jessica Knight.

Now, watching her practically slumped over her fruit salad, he sighed. _Instead of a depressed woman in my office, I have a depressed woman at my hip_, Julius thought. He grabbed the Tabasco and put another healthy dose on his eggs. He looked up to see a slight smile tugging on her lips.

"Do you even taste the egg?" she asked. He grinned, his mouth still full of today's special omelet. "Eggs are a base for the sauce," he mumbled, and she lifted her napkin quickly, trying not to laugh.

Julius relaxed a little. This Jessica he could handle. The doe-eyed, vulnerable, slightly dejected Jessica stirred something in him that he'd rather not explore. Even a moment ago, when she sat there biting her lip, pouting over melon and pineapple slices, Julius felt the unfamiliar urge to comfort her, or at least made him think of other things he'd like to do with those lips. He coughed at the idea, and grabbed a quick shot of coffee to chase down the egg caught in his throat.

This time when he looked up though water eyes, he was hit with her 1,000-watt smile. Normally, he would duck and cover from that much light, but today it was as though one of last night's thugs landed a perfect stomach punch, pulling the wind out of his lungs. _Uh oh_, he thought. _Time to change the subject, Julius_.

He wiped his mouth with his napkin and reached into his wallet. Signaling to his usual waitress, Lydia, he tossed some crumpled bills on the table. "You got the Grimwold file?" he asked her.

She nodded and pulled the file from her bag. "Do you really think the case is done?" she asked hesitantly.

"I sure hope so, doll," he muttered. "The Grimwold kid is behind bars, and I'm not sure I can face too many more nights like last night." Concern shadowed her face, and Julius sighed. "I'm fine, Knight. But it might be nice not to be someone's punching bag for a change." She opened her mouth, and Julius felt a lecture coming on. "Let's go," he said. "Captain Aumua waiting."

Captain Robert Aumua stared at the paperwork on his desk, with worry lines permanently etched into his large brow. _Well, nothing about Captain Aumua is the least bit small,_ though Julius, as he stepped into the slightly organized chaos of the precinct office. The Samoan topped the scales around 370 pounds, a fact which earned him the name "Big Bob" in his younger days when he served drinks in a seedy bar near where Julius grew up. The two came through the academy together and Aumua was one of the few men Julius respected, and trusted with his life.

"Cap, you gotta sec?" Julius said with a quick knock. A look from Aumua offered Julius his signature smile. That smile froze for a nanosecond and kicked up about 300 degrees when Aumua caught sight of Jessica, strolling in behind Julius.

"Miss Knight! Did Pepperwood finally let you out of the office?" He laughed heartily before she could reply, and warmly motioned to a chair. "Please, sit down. Can I get you some water or tea?" Jessica returned his smile and practically floated into the chair.

"Thank you, captain, I'm fine. How are the girls?" she asked sweetly and pointed to the picture on his desk.

Aumua's smile transformed into one of pure pride. "Anita and Becky are great! Thank you for the gift card for Anita. She adores American Girl Dolls."

Jessica's face fell in mock horror. "Anita? I thought that card was for your birthday," Jessica joked and Aumua laughed again.

Julius frowned. And stared at the picture. _How in the hell does she know his kids' names?_ he thought. Julius was pretty sure he remembered a baby in there somewhere, but damned if he could remember Aumua having two kids, or even his wife's name. He gave his head a quick shake to clear it. "So cap, the Grimwold case?" he injected, more than happy to break up their little party.

Aumua gave a small sigh. "Always work with this one, eh?" he tilted his head toward Julius and winked at Jessica. The move rankled Julius. Not only could he tell he was the butt of their joke, but Jessica was biting her lip again to keep from giggling.

Turning to Julius, Aumua's smile faded. "You were right, Grimwold was only making the juice, but you were also right when you asked us to look at the money angle," he said, and pulled a file from the stacks on his desk.

Julius' head snapped up. "I thought we figured the kid stole the formaldehyde he used for the mix."

Aumua nodded. "He did, but he also had backing to clear his way into a distribution center."

Jessica raised her hand. "Um, formaldehyde?"

Barley giving her a side glance, Julius took the file Aumua offered. "He used it to slow the zombie cycling, so guys would take it and think they gained the strength, without any of those nasty undead side effects."

She frowned. "I thought a lot of the super-strength talk about zombies was a myth."

Julius barked a laugh. "Doll, I've seen a drooler rip arms off guys – living guys. You think that's a myth?" By her shocked expression, he knew he'd been rough, but part of Julius was glad she's just stopped biting her damn lip and having private laughfests with Aumua.

Aumua cleared his throat. "Maybe we leave out some of the more, um, graphic details today?" He gave Julius a direct stare.

Rolling his eyes, Julius nodded dramatically. "Sure, cap. Let's go for the PG rating for the little lady."

Jessica shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "No, please don't. I want to learn. I…I just didn't realize how dangerous it was out there for you, Mr. Pepperwood."

Julius closed his eyes for a second. _Nice way to be a heel_, _Julius_, he snapped at himself. "Yeah, well, you know," he stammered. "So what is the money angle, cap?"

Aumua raised an eyebrow at Julius and tossed a look at Jessica. He bit back a knowing smile before he answered. "We tracked his latest sales to a grocery store front on Morrissey. It always had a backroom reputation for drugs. We've had units there twice, but everything seems to be locked up tight and clean when we get there." He glanced back down at his desk and pushed an open file toward Julius. "Now I'm supposed to turn this over to the drug task force tomorrow, but if someone were to get a look at it first, I imagine it could not hurt."

Julius glanced at the address and nodded curtly. He was about to get up when Jessica piped in, "Oh! You want Julius to see if he can figure out what is going on before you turn over the case!" Both men slowly turned their heads to her. Seeing their incredulous looks, she coughed and adjusted her hair in it's already neat, little bun on her head. "But, of course, it would all be on the down-low," she mumbled.

Shaking his head in wonder, Julius caught Aumua actually smiling at Jessica. He sighed. "We better go before it gets any more on the 'down-low' here," Julius said. This time he did rise to leave, but Aumua called after him.

"Julius, just so you know, this particular grocery was known for more than being a drug front. It was also a laundering spot for an old friend of yours," said Aumua warily.

"Oh yeah, who of my past fans did business there?" Julius said with a stilted, humorless laugh.

Aumua looked down. "It was one of Schiller's places," he said quietly.

The blood drained form Julius' face and his breath quickened. He simply nodded slowly and headed out the door.


	4. Nick Miller and sexy fruit

Nick Miller, zombie novelist extraordinaire, stood in the kitchen staring at the pieces of fruit in his hands. As one of his roommates entered, he asked, "Schmidt, which fruit is sexier? A grapefruit, or … whatever the hell this is."

Schmidt glanced at the fruit in Nick's hands. "That, Nick, is a perfectly formed pomegranate from the jeweled shores of the Mediterranean," he said with a distinct roll of his eyes.

Nick looked at the fruit again and shrugged. "So which one is sexier?"

"I am glad you asked, Nicholas," said Schmidt, sliding onto one of the bar stools. "I would opt for the delectable pomegranate. The delicate red arils not only sound sinful, they are perfect for a variety of sexy dishes from scintillating smoothies to – of course you being a bartender would know – wine. And the fruit itself recalls the woeful tale of Persephone, who was lured to the Underworld…"

"Grapefruit!" called Winston, sticking his head around the corner of the kitchen.

"What?" asked Nick.

"Grapefruit – it's bigger."

Nick weighed each fruit in his hands, then tossed the pomegranate to Schmidt. "Thanks, man," he said and headed back to his room.

Schmidt slowly closed his eyes. "Heathens," he muttered.


	5. The Distraction

Julius eased his gas-guzzling Mustang convertible onto the street.

"Whose Schiller?" Jessica asked quietly. "I don't remember him from the files."

Keeping his eyes on the road, Julius clenched the steering wheel. "Ross Schiller wouldn't be in our files, doll," he said in a low voice. "He was the brains behind Caroline Labs."

From his side vision, he could see her crystal, blue eyes widen. "You mean the scientist who created the zombie formula?"

He nodded. "More like evil genius, Knight. And I'm hoping he's not coming back anytime soon."

They drove on in silence for a bit. Though Julius could feel her eyes watching him, he refused to acknowledge her stare. _If it's Schiller, I'll have to call Winnie and bring the feds back_, he thought, and the idea left him cold. _More red tape, more lawyers. I hate lawyers. _After the explosion at Caroline Labs, the feds reported there was no way Schiller could have survived. His estate lawyers swept in from there, doing their best to block any possible leads to finding him if he DID survive. Julius had no choice but to go along with the official report, though he and Winnie had their doubts.

"You okay, Mr. Pepperwood?" she asked. His eyes flew to her, almost forgetting her presence.

"Yeah, Knight, I'm fine," he said.

She nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but then her gaze focused on the road. "Where are we going? The captain said the grocery was on Morrissey."

"It is," Julius said, taking a right. "I'm taking you back to the office first."

Jessica shook her head, sending tendrils of hair from the bun on her head. "You said I was spending today in the field with you." She looked down, probably realizing how much her complaint sounded like a whine. "You took me to see Captain Aumua," she added in a small voice.

Julius double-parked in front of the run-down building that housed his office. "Forget it kid," he said. "You can be in the field with me when that means you are surrounded by 30 cops at the precinct, not when it means going up against a potential juice distributor and his flunkies." He waved his hand at the passenger-side door. "Scoot, Knight," but she remained firmly planted in her seat.

"I want to help," she said with her jaw set in a determined look Julius knew well. _Ugh_, he thought. _That's the same look she gave me when I told her to quit mashing up vitamins and sticking them in my eggs._

He shook his head. "The answer is NO," he said firmly. Still, she refused to budge. Exasperated, he reached across the car to slam open her door. Unfortunately, Julius managed to brush against the front of her sweater, causing a small gasp to escape her lips.

Julius froze. He had the uncomfortable realization that his face was incredibly close to hers, and he found it difficult to swallow as the vanilla and strawberry scent of her invaded his senses. The unnerving thought crossed his mind that if he turned – just a bit – he could kiss her, capture those ruby, red kips with his own. For a moment, the urge to do just that was overwhelming. Just in time, Julius caught himself. His arm snapped back as if the door was on fire.

Jessica didn't say a word, but he could swear her breathing was hitched and unsteady. He shook himself mentally. "Fine," he growled and threw the car into gear, squealing back into traffic.

The Mustang sputtered into a narrow spot about two blocks from the grocery store. Julius reached under his seat and grabbed a box. He pulled out a pistol and stuffed it into the holster under his jacket. He was about to reach over and open the glove compartment, when he thought better of drawing so close to her again. "Hand me the silver flask in there, will ya doll?" he practically barked at her. She slammed the compartment open and picked up the flask, scowling at him.

"Are you going to drink NOW, Mr. Pepperwood?" she asked, not bothering to mask the disgust in her voice. He rolled his eyes and snatched the flask from her hands.

"No, Knight. You know I don't drink for real until 5 p.m." He took a swig of the whiskey and brushed his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm going to use this as a _distraction_ to stumble into the back, where Aumua thinks the junk might be hidden."

She pursed her lips, but he could see a small smile spread across them. Julius looked down to tuck the flask into his jacket pocket. When his head came up, he was greeted with the sight of Jessica peeling off her sweater and somehow maneuvering her little dress so her cleavage stood out, prominently.

"What in the hell are you doing, Knight?" That time he DID bark at her, but she didn't even flinch as she pulled the pins from the bun on her head, and her raven hair cascaded down her shoulder.

Rummaging in her purse, she pulled out a tube of lipstick. "I'm going to be another distraction, Mr. Pepperwood," she said, and began to apply a sinful shade of red to her lips. Julius found he had to look away.

"You can say that again," he grumbled and jumped put of the car, slamming the door. He made it to her side in three strides, but she was already climbing out. "Don't you think it's better if you stay in the car, Knight? Like a lookout?"

She pushed away from the car and started toward the store. "Don't be silly, Mr. Pepperwood. Two distractions are better than one," she said over her shoulder. _Her very creamy, soft-looking shoulder,_ he thought. "Not when you are distracting _me,_" he muttered and slapped his face two or three times. _Get your head in the game, Pepperwood!_

Julius let Jessica stay a few strides ahead so she could enter the store first. Following at a safe distance, he walked inside. The air conditioner on the wall wheezed out a tepid stream of air, with barely moving fans circulating the stale air around the small grocery.

Glancing up, Julius noticed the pressed tin roof had been painted a now-fading shade of dark green. He caught sight of a few chips and easily identified where the hidden cameras were placed. He nodded at the clerk at the front, but the guy barely acknowledged him, and Julius could not blame him.

There, in the middle of the first aisle, stood Jessica, leaning over a pile of ripe grapefruit and groping them in a way Julius decided should be illegal. As soon as he passed, she causally let one of the grapefruit roll to the floor. "Oh my!" she exclaimed in a breathy voice and the clerk fell over himself to help her.

_Nice job, doll,_ he thought, biting back a smile. Julius made his way to the room mentioned in the reports as the possible distribution center. Pulling out his flask, he took another chug and staggered slightly for the camera before he lumbered through the door.

As he tumbled through the doorway, two large men jumped up from the card table where they were seated. A cursory glance gave Julius all the proof he needed. Stacks of cash covered the table, along with the familiar tubes of purple liquid that held zombie juice. _Jackpot_, he thought.

"Hey," he yelled at the guys. "This ain't the john!" He stumbled in a few more steps, noting one of the men, a thick-necked, tattooed giant, reached under the table, while the other, a shorter, more nervous-looking clone, moved toward Julius. "Hey, you guys shooting craps?" he asked with a hiccup. "'Cause I am wiz at craps!" He fell against the wall, reaching into his jacket with his free hand. "Oh man, I should NOT have said wiz. Where is the john? Is it there?" He pointed to the back wall with his flask, and the nervous-looking brute grabbed his arm.

_Rookie mistake_, thought Julius as he pulled the guy to him and slugged him in the head with the butt of his gun. He quickly aimed the pistol at the larger man, who did not move. "All right, hands up, nice and slow," said Julius evenly. For a moment the hulking man did not move. Julius sighed. "I don't enjoy shooting, but make no mistake, I do it well, and I will not choose a pleasant target." Though his eyes narrowed, the man's arms slowly moved up.

Jessica leaned into the room. "Hey doll," Julius said without taking his eyes off the brute. "What happened to your friend?"

She shrugged. "He got handsy."

Julius stifled a laugh, though he noted his humor was tempered with a hot anger that washed over him as he thought _where_ those hands went. "You clock him hard?" he asked. Jessica nodded. "Good," he said. "Do me a favor and call Aumua," he said. She took a step back into the store as she pulled out her phone.

Without looking down, Julius allowed himself a quick assessment of the table, seeing at least 30 vials of purple zombie juice, but no vials of the pale pink antidote. That meant this was only a distribution center, not a manufacturing plant. From outside the door, he heard Jessica's voice on the phone and the beep as she hung with up Aumua. He waited for her to reappear. But just as he caught the edge of her light blue dress dance by the door, it was quickly whipped away.

An icy fear gripped Julius as sounds of a struggle drifted from the store. "You okay Knight?" he called as his grip on the gun tightened. When she did not respond, he cursed silently and made a step back toward the door. Seeing his chance, the hulking man threw the table in front of him and launched something at Julius. Julius fired twice, and the man collapsed to the ground.

Jessica raced into the room, her dress torn and her eyes flashing. She gripped a bar that looked like it had been yanked off one of the grocery displays. Even with her appearance, Julius could not help but laugh when he saw the wild look in her eyes, like she was ready to clonk out anyone in her way. "Rough day at the office, kid?" he asked.

She smiled and let the end of the bar fall to the ground. Her smile froze in horror as her gaze fixed on Julius' arm. He followed her eyes to his arm, and saw the small pressure dart pushing the last of the purple liquid into his arm. Julius yanked the dart from his arm, and a few drops of the cool juice dripped from his wound.

"Oh doll," he muttered. "I sure hope you know how to drive."


	6. Nick Miller just knows

Nick Miller, zombie author extraordinaire, eased back against the soft leather of the couch, a legal pad balancing against his knees.

Jess scooted closer to him and tucked her feet under his leg as she wrote comments on the latest assignment from her writing class. Nick absently rubbed his thumb along her leg and chewed on his pen cap.

Hearing him mumble something, Jess looked up from her paper. "Did you just call me, 'doll'?" she asked, her eyes wide with amusement. She leaned forward, trying to peek at his barely legible scribbles on the notepad. In response, Nick quickly flipped the pad against his chest.

"What?! Nah, you're hearing things, Jess." As she made grab for the paper, he lifted it high over his head, and wrapped his free arm around her waist to hold her back.

She gave him a mischievous grin. "What are you up to, Miller? Is this another infamous appearance of Julius Pepperwood, zombie detective?"

Now his eyes widened. "Nooooo," he said with a halted laugh. He stared at her, unblinking for a couple of seconds before he sighed. "Fine, yes, but you cannot read it."

She made another lunge for the pad, and Nick tossed it behind the couch and grabbed her with both arms. "I wanna see it," she yelped.

"It's not ready!" he yelled as she half-heartedly struggled in his arms, which only made him pull her closer. "No! It's bad! It's bad!" he laughed.

Jess finally surrendered and laid her hands on his chest, propping her chin on her fingers. "How do you know it's bad?"

He smiled at her. "Because I just know." Nick kissed her lightly on the nose and shook his head with another laugh. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

"So, what is our great detective up to now?" she asked.

Nick leaned his head back on the couch. "Well, he's been infected with the zombie formula, and the brave Jessica Knight is racing him back to the office to get him the antidote." He felt Jess give him a squeeze. He knew it cracked her up that he named the character after her, especially since it stemmed from the time he'd thought he was rescuing her from her not-so-serial-killer student, Edgar.

"Mmmmmm, I like Jessica," she said dreamily. "Does she save him?"

Nick scratched his ear. "I don't know. It would be kinda cool to have him wander around the rest of the book as a super-strong half-zombie." He felt Jess shake with quiet laughter.

"Eeeeew," she said, and looked up at him. "How is she going to kiss him if he is all zombified?"

Nick felt his lips pull into a turtle face. "Do you think they have to kiss?"

"Nick!" Jess yelped and sat up, making Nick's turtle face pull farther down in response to losing the pleasant sensation of her laying on him. "They HAVE to kiss! She'll save him, and then, in his vulnerable and weakened state, he'll tell her how he feels, or unload some huge burden he's been carrying, and then they kiss!"

Watching her animated description of the tale, he lifted his hands in a defensive wave. "Ooookay," he laughed. "Maybe they kiss. But come on, why does he have to be all woozy to tell her how he feels?"

Jess leveled a stern look at Nick, and raised one eyebrow. "Really, Nick? So tell me, how do you feel about us?"

Nick shot up as if he'd been hit with a cattle prod. "What? Where is that coming from? I mean, come on, you know that I…how I…I mean, come on! " Nick paused and he gave her a slight smile, followed by a quick nod. "So, we dope up Julius, then?"

Jess nodded and laughed, then she noticed Nick was giving her one of her favorite looks. It was look he gave her when they were trapped behind the wall in the game of True American, the look he gave her when she asked how he felt on their date-that-was-not-a-date. In so many ways, Jess knew that look and what it meant. She stood slowly and reached for him. "Come on, doll," she said with a wink. "Let me give you some inspiration."

Nick smiled, grabbed her hand, and let Jess lead him to the bedroom.


	7. Close calls and closer whispers

**_This chapter is longer than most – guess Nick was "inspired."_**

Turns out Jessica Knight did know how to drive. Right now she was flying through traffic like the devil himself was on her tail. Julius pulled his arm closer to his chest as the paralyzing effect of the drug began to tingle in his hand.

"Okay Knight, this is not gonna be pretty," Julius said, smacking the seat next to him as the pain swelled and slowly rolled to his shoulder. "They'll be two shots in the medicine cabinet. I'm sure as HELL not going to the like the first one, but you have to, and I mean HAVE to give me the second shot within a minute of the first." The burning pain seized his side and he gave a gnarled gasp. Jessica revved the engine and blew through a red light.

"Almost there, boss," she declared. Julius looked up to see her jaw set in determination, her hair blowing in the wind and her cheeks rosy with worry. _Damn_, he thought. _She looks amazing._

She slammed on the breaks and jumped out of the car, running to his side. Easing him out of the car, Jessica leaned him up against her side. They made slow progress to the aging elevator as the pain seared down Julius' leg. "Too bad I'm in hell, or I could really enjoy being this close to you," he mumbled. Jess slapped the button for the elevator five or six times.

Julius squeezed his eyes shut as the liquid fire edged with horrific slowness across his chest. He gritted his teeth. "Look Knight," he hissed. "I'm gonna say and do a lot of stuff, including curse at you and pass out from the pain." She nodded absently as the elevator creaked and groaned its way to them. "I'm telling you, as soon as you get those shots in me, get out. Leave the office and lock the door behind you." Her eyes locked with his, and he could see the shock and defiance burning there. "I mean it, Knight," he choked.

The elevator gave a lazy ding as the door slid open. Jessica hauled Julius into the metal box and jabbed the button for the fourth floor repeatedly. Julius was about to argue with her again, but as the agony inched toward the other side of his body, it took everything he had to remain upright and leaning on Jessica. Vaguely, he registered the door sliding open, and she practically dragged him down the hall. He could feel her wobbling as she fumbled for her keys, then heard a very un-Jessica-Knight-like curse from her lips, followed by the sound of glass cracking and shattering.

As soon as she pulled him through the office door, Julius surrendered to the paralyzing pull and collapsed to the floor. The roar of blood in his ears deafened him, but he thought he caught the metal scraping sound of the old medicine cabinet. "Knight," he mumbled, unsure she could hear him. "Just give me a little warning before you…."

A fresh wave of scorching pain burst through his body, and Julius was pretty sure he could hear someone scream. As the antidote coursed its way through his veins, the medicine crashed into the virus and the battle for his humanity began. Every ounce of his body came alive with searing jolts and Julius was convinced his blood was about to boil. He fought for control, though he knew from experience his arms and legs were flailing wildly. Somewhere far away, someone was shouting at him. It was a voice he knew, but the echoes from the pain had pushed out all coherent thought. He choked for air as the virus and antidote reached the battleground of his lungs. In a few seconds more, Julius knew the raging agony would reach his heart, and then it would be too late.

_You tried kid,_ he thought. As odd as it was, more than anything, Julius dreaded dying in front of Jessica, knowing it would tear her up. One final, simple line rolled through his mind, _Goodbye, doll_.

All at once, the air rushed back into his lungs. His eyes shot open and Julius sat up, gasping. As the waves of pain receded, Julius focused on the wide-eyed, raven-haired Jessica, straddling his legs. She yanked the second syringe from his leg, and pulled herself to him. Julius fought to take in the sight of her, but felt the crushing blackness of exhaustion and relief wash over him. "Jessica, you are one beautiful woman," he whispered before the darkness took hold.

~J&J~

Julius squinted against the florescent stream that attacked his eyelids. For a brief second, he thought it was just another morning when he passed out at the office after a night of too much booze and self-loathing. Something was off, though … different. As he tried to move his arms he realized he was cocooned in a soft blanket. The broken spring of his ripped leather couch poked him in the back, and he started to squirm to roll away from it. Turning his head, he stopped and was greeted not by the sight of his dingy office desk, but the vision of a rather slender leg.

He sniffed, trying not to push himself away from this dream too quickly. It was then he felt a cool cloth on his head, and a soft voice whispering words he could barely understand. As a gentle hand ran through his sweat-matted hair, Julius sighed, and surrendered to the darkness.

~J&J~

When consciousness found Julius again, he eased open his eyes and focused on the cracked ceiling tiles. The dreamy legs had vanished, but an odd sound drifted from the outer office, light and airy. _She's singing_, he thought, and his lips cracked in a smile. He raised a weary hand to his face and rubbed the ever-growing stubble there. The singing stopped, and he turned to look at the doorway.

There she stood, her raven hair pulled back into a bun. The dazzling smile she bestowed upon him made his breath hitch and a lump form in his already scratchy throat. Everything about her practically glowed when she looked at him. The sight of her slammed into him. _She's way too good for this place,_ he thought. _Way too good for me. _He noticed she wore the same dress she had on when they went to the grocery, but a bright ribbon tied up the tear. A wave of queasiness washed over him when Julius considered what she'd been through. _Never again_, he silently swore to himself. _I'll never put her in danger again._

She raced over to the sofa. Sitting on the edge, she felt his forehead. He closed his eyes to the cool feel of her touch.

"You look better," Jessica said, relief evident in her voice. She reached for a glass near the couch and put the straw up to his lips. Julius drank and did his best to clear his throat.

"Thought I ordered you to lock up and go home," he said, though some of his gruffness was swallowed by the cracking of his voice. "Geeze, it feels like I was snacking on sandpaper."

Her laughter fell around him. "Good to see you back getting to your old self." She gave him another drink and placed the glass back on the side table. "I wanted to take you to a hospital, but Captain Aumua told me it was better if you recuperated here." She tried to brush her hand along his hair, but Julius moved away, pushing himself to sit up. "Oh no, don't rush getting up, Jul…Mr. Pepperwood," she corrected herself. Julius cursed silently at how much he enjoyed hearing even the first part of his name on her lips.

"Gotta get up eventually, doll, might as well be now," he said, easing himself up slowly on the couch. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Aumua was right. Agents can't go to the hospital after an attack, that's why they give them the antidote."

Jessica frowned. "But you aren't an agent anymore," she said quietly.

"Technically no, but they do give me a couple of vials of the antidote. If I went to a hospital, there would be a record they would have to clean up, and hold a review." Julius stretching his arms over his head, and coughed slightly. "They don't tend to like that, and would not be so happy to give me the antidote again."

Jessica's eyes widened in realization. "A public record means you would be done as a contractor for them."

Julius nodded. "No contract, no Pepperwood Private Investigations," he said. He glanced at the medicine cabinet. "And we'll have to be careful now, doll. That was the last of my stash, so we'll have to get on the line and call Winnie for more." He cringed, thinking that she wouldn't be happy. "How long was I out?"

She looked down. "About a day and a half," she said quietly.

His eyes lowered. "You been here the whole time?" Jessica refused to look at him, and simply nodded slowly. He sighed. "Knight, what did I tell ya?"

Jessica glanced at him. "You told me you would say a lot of things you did not mean. I just happened to consider the next sentence out of your mouth as one of them."

Julius stared at her for a beat, then burst out laughing. He leaned back on the couch with a smirk on his lips. "So, what other dopey things did I say?"

She became quiet and rose, walking to the desk. "You may have mentioned Masonville a few times." His smile fell.

"Did I?" he asked in a low voice.

Jessica did not turn to look at him, but instead busied herself with files on his desk. "Uh huh," she said. "You said something about how you were sorry. You just kept saying that, like someone was haunting you." She stopped and looked out the window. "And I thought, maybe someone was haunting you because you never talked about it. Julius, what happened there?"

Julius closed his eyes. "Nothing that you want to hear about, doll," he said quietly. "Nothing anyone wants to hear about." He opened his eyes to see she was beside him again, sitting down on the sofa.

"You asked someone to forgive you. Who, Julius?" Her voice floated down around him, and Julius felt his resolve caving. He was so damned tired. So tired of fighting for something he could never reach. So tired of searching for … what? He was pretty sure he used to know, but now the answer seemed out of his grasp. Hell, maybe he was just tired from nearly being turned into a zombie. Julius didn't know, or even care anymore.

He turned to look at the wall. "That's nowhere I want to go again." He felt a soft hand ease onto his. As soon as he felt her skin connect to his, Julius knew the last of his resolve was gone. He sighed. "Fine. Masonville was a nothing, a little town of about 300 people in the middle of nowhere. The GPS couldn't even find it at first. We didn't make it in time. By the time we reached Masonville, half the town was infected by two wackos who decided to carry out their grudge against each other by having zombies fight it out for them. They just went around zapping everyone they could find." He paused and Jessica squeezed his hand.

"We tried to get the antidote to as many as we could, but most were too far gone, and we had to put them down." Julius took a shaky breath. "Bloody business putting a zombie down for good, you know. Nothing clean or easy like the movies." She gently wrapped her hands around his arm.

"So I see someone not infected, a little girl. And she is chasing, and I mean _chasing_ after one of these zombies. I shout at her, and run after her. She turns to look at me and yells, 'He's my little brother!' And that's when the zombie punches a fist clean through her."

Jessica gasped and clung tighter to Julius. His breath staggered for a moment, trying to find the words to fit his memory. "I get to her, but I know it's too late. The last thing this little kid sees is me putting down her brother before he can attack her or anyone else again. She just looked at me with such shock and hurt. Ya know - _accusation_ in her eyes. It was as though I was the one who made her brother sick, like I took everything from her." His voice hitched, and he took a deep breath.

"I just couldn't take it after that." Julius pushed his hand through his hair. "I figured I could come back here and maybe stop the juice before it gets out there. But you can see how well that turned out." He picked at the peeling paint on the wall. "I nab maybe a couple of hundred vials off the streets a year, and pick up a pittance from the feds for it. And there are thousands of vials getting churned out that still make it onto the street."

Jessica sighed and leaned her chin on his shoulder. "Could make a man give up hope, even a good man."

"Well, then I guess we know what it does to a man like me, then," he said with a halted laugh. He bushed the paint chips off the couch. "Ah well, at least I go down the drain alone."

Her hand moved to his chin and he angled it toward her. He closed his eyes. "You are not alone," she whispered. He did not move. "Julius," she pleaded. "You are NOT alone anymore." Before he could respond, he felt the brush of her lips against his. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and shook his head. Both of her hands slipped onto his cheeks and she crushed her lips to his.

Julius responded. He snaked a hand into her luscious hair and pulled her closer to him, opening his mouth to her, and drinking in the sensation her lips ignited in him. He heard her moan softly as her arms circled his neck. Julius could not stop himself, devouring her lips and the heady feel of her breath intertwining with his. He tasted her bottom lip with his tongue, and groaned as her soft tongue tentatively invaded his mouth. He looped his free hand around to her back and held her with a possessiveness that startled him.

"Julius," she whispered, and he smiled against her lips. He placed a hand on her cheek, but Jessica flinched. He opened his eyes quickly, thinking she had come to her senses and thought better of kissing him. It was then he saw the purple-green bruise under her eye.

"Jesus," he whispered, his stomach clenching. "I'll kill him."

"Who?" Jessica asked, her face registering shock.

"The bastard who did that to your face," he snarled.

She reached up and gingerly touched the swollen eye. "Well, I think he's been through enough," she answered with a sly smile.

"What, getting knocked out by a grocery display? Not by a long shot." Julius snapped. "Did he live?"

Jessica was biting back a laugh, but Julius could not see the humor. "All of those men lived, even the one you shot."

He nodded. "I hit him in unimportant, but painful places." Julius reached out slowly, gently taking hold of her chin and turned her face so he could see her shiner. "Remind me to teach you how to shoot a gun," he said.

"Why?" she asked in slight horror.

He sighed and dropped his hand away. She frowned, and a nagging voice – a voice he knew he should ignore – told him it was because he stopped touching her. "Because, Knight, you will not always have a Ding Dong display ready anytime someone who appreciates your grapefruit attacks you," he said with a slight sneer. Her mouth hitched up again. "What?" he practically yelled at her.

"Or someone with a syringe in his leg," she said with a quiet laugh.

Now the nausea hit full force as Julius realized what she was saying. "I…I did that to you?" he choked out the words.

She tilted her head and smiled. "You were going through a bit worse at the time," she laughed. Her smile fell as she watched his expression. "It's all right, Julius," she said slowly.

"Like HELL it is," he yelled. She flinched, and he squeezed both of his eyes with one hand in a vain effort to control his temper, and his utter disgust at himself. "You, Knight, will not be coming into the field with me again," he growled. "I will NOT see you hurt. Got it?"

Suddenly he was hit with that thousand-watt smile once again. She leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on the lips. "Do me a favor, Julius, and call me Jessica when you kiss me and then yell at me?"

Knowing a smile was threatening to break across his face, Julius bit his lip and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, doll," he said.


	8. Nick Miller makes Winston a hot babe

Nick Miller, zombie novelist and boyfriend extraordinaire winked at Jess as he pulled the door to her bedroom closed. He was on a mission – not one fraught with danger or high stakes – just a mission to get his girlfriend a glass of water.

Heading into the kitchen, Nick noticed Winston seated on a barstool, flipping through paper with a rather agitated look on his face. His eyes snapped to Nick. "You made me a WOMAN?" he yelled.

Nick glanced down at the paper and realized Winston had scooped up the notepad he'd discarded in his playful struggles with Jess. His smile fell and he thought, _Maybe this IS fraught with danger. _

Winston shook the paper at Nick. "Did you, or did you NOT, make me a woman?" Flipping back several pages, he read, "'That was the last of my stash, so we'll have to get on the line and call Winnie for more." He cringed, thinking that SHE wouldn't be happy.'" Wiggling the notepad at Nick he cried, "Really Nick?"

Nick remained frozen in place. "What do you…how did you…how do you even know I wrote that?"

Indignantly, Winston dropped the paper on the kitchen island and whipped back to the first page. "The Grimwold Case, by Nick Miller," he read. Nick cringed. Winston turned the page. "This is by Nick Miller, bad ass zombie novelist." Flapping over another leaf, he pointed to the corner of the page. "And here is a doodle that reads, 'Nick + Jess fore…."

"Okay, okay!" Nick yelled, snatching the notepad from the table. He smoothed out the pages carefully and looked at Winston. "I needed another female character to add some charge into the story." He paused before adding in a low voice, "You know, you're a really hot woman."

Winston pursed his lips into a small frown. "How hot am I?"

Nick gave him a small smile. "Smokin' hot."

Narrowing his eyes, Winston pondered the idea for a second. "Of course, I'd make a damn hot woman," he said simply. Then he leveled a finger at Nick. "You and I do NOT make out, do we?"

Nick's mouth fell into a turtle face. "No! Ugh!" He glanced at the paper. "You're sort of more attracted to Jessica Knight."

Winston's eyes flew open. "I am a LESBIAN woman?" His outraged expression quickly settled into one of contemplation. "I am a hot, lesbian woman?" Nick nodded with a sly grin and Winston laughed. "You are damn right I am!" He slapped his hand on the island.

"Yup, Winifred King is beloved by the ladies," Nick said with a laugh.

A quick light flashed in Winston's eyes. "King, like Bishop, another chess piece…pretty clever, Nick," he said with approval apparent in his voice. Nick shrugged.

Winston hopped off the stool. "Okay, bad ass zombie novelist, I want to see that chapter soon." He slapped Nick's arm and headed out of the kitchen. Peeking his head back around, he added, "Oh and Nick? Don't ever call me Winifred."


	9. Realities and confessions

Jessica heaved open the door and eased Julius into his apartment. Though he protested, Julius was grateful she had insisted on driving him home and helping him get up to his place. Balancing on the door jam, his muscles still felt like jelly and the exhaustion seeped into his bones.

As she entered, Jessica's eyes widened. Julius turned to see her shock was not from his apartment's usual state of disarray, but the sight of the Amazonian woman standing in the middle of his living room.

"What in the HELL were you thinking, Pepperwood?" Winifred King snapped at him. Tapping her high-heel-clad foot, her hands were perched on the hips of a short skirt, giving a good show of her dark, shapely legs.

Julius sighed. "Hello, Winnie. Nice to see you, too." He wasn't surprised Winnie had broken into his apartment. Nor was he surprised at her terse greeting. Julius eased his arm from Jessica's shoulder, and she helped him into a chair. He tilted his head toward Winnie. "Jessica Knight, this is Winnie King, my former partner and current fed handler."

Winnie crossed her arms in her tailored jacket and raised an eyebrow. "Knight," she said evenly, looking Jessica over with her standard piercing glare.

"Nice to meet you," Jessica said hesitantly. Winnie gave her a slight smile.

Julius rubbed his eyes. "As pleased as I am you could visit, Winnie, you mind telling me what this is about? I just had a rather challenging couple of days."

Her eyes snapped to him. "So I've heard," she practically spat at him.

Julius looked up at her, realization dawning. "The grocery clerk?"

Winnie nodded. "He was one of ours before your girl here beaned him with a Twinkie display."

"Ding Dong," Julius and Jessica muttered together. He glanced at Jessica. "You might want to choose some less distractable snitches, Winnie," he mumbled. Jessica let out a gasp, understanding hitting her that her grocery store battle victory came at the price of a federal informant. She slumped slowly onto the arm of the chair next to Julius.

The smile returned to Winnie's lips. "I guess I don't blame him," she said, examining Jessica with an appreciative eye.

Julius rolled his eyes, though her stare rankled him. "Hey, Knight, why don't you grab a shower? Your days have not been exactly fun-filled either." Jessica looked down at herself and blushed. She ran a self-conscious hand through her hair. "Towels are in the cabinet," he nodded toward the hallway that led to the bathroom. She bit her lip, and Julius could tell she was unsure whether to leave him with the towering woman before her. He gave Jessica a small wink. "I'll be all right, Knight. Winnie hasn't shot me yet." Jessica gave him a timid laugh, but nodded and headed down the hall.

"I like your new body guard," Winnie said, watching her walk away. "You sure you wanna get her mixed up in this?"

Julius rubbed his face with his hands. "I'd love to know what THIS is, Winnie." He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. "You mind telling me why you had a federal informant in a small-time juice distribution center?"

Winnie looked down for a moment, before easing herself onto the sofa next to Julius. "What would you do if I told you to back off this one, Pepperwood?"

Julius froze, but kept his eyes shut. "I think you know the answer to that, Winnie," he said carefully. Hearing a sigh escape her lips, she mumbled something that sounded close to "stubborn jackass." When he caught her voice again, Julius could tell she was leaning closer to him.

"I mean it this time, Julius," she hissed. He slowly raised his eyelids to see Winnie was giving him a view of her ample chest along with a deadly serious expression. "I have orders. You interfere and you are out. No more cases, no more money for booze, and no more antidote for when you jump in front of another dart."

Julius held her gaze for a moment more. "It's Schiller, isn't it?" he asked coolly. "You found him."

Winnie's face betrayed no answers, but she slid back gracefully in the sofa. "You know I cannot answer that, not unless you were part of the bureau."

The dread that had been buried somewhere deep inside erupted in Julius' chest. "Tell me where he is, Winnie," he said through gritted teeth. Winnie smoothed her skirt and pulled an invisible piece of fluff from the hem.

"Why would I do that, Pepperwood?" she asked calmly.

Julius shot to his feet. "No games, Winifred. Just tell me where he is," he growled.

Winnie jumped up from the sofa. "Why Pepperwood? Your death wish gotten that bad?" She pushed her wavy, dark hair across her shoulder and tossed him a look of disgust. "Look at you, Julius. I've been keeping an eye on you, you know. You're drunk more often than you're not. You take reckless risks every chance you get. And now you're out of the antidote I gave you, aren't you?"

Her accusations only fueled his anger. "Ya gonna tell me where I can find him, or do I go ripping through all of Chicago to gun down that miserable sonavabitch?" he yelled.

Shoving Julius against the chair, Winnie shouted in his face. "Where do you think you are, Julius? This is it for you! You've hit your nadir, baby. All you're doing is looking for a way to die, and you think I'm going to hand that to you? And what about that little girl?" Winnie pointed quickly to the hallway. "You gonna drag her down with you? Is that what you want? You willing to risk her? 'Cause I guarantee she'll be the first to get caught in the crossfire."

Julius flinched as if she'd slapped him. All the air rushed out his lungs and he staggered back a step, causing his legs to buckle as they hit the arm of the chair. _You're not alone anymore_, she had whispered to him. Julius came down hard on the chair.

Seeing the fight flood out of him, Winnie leaned over and patted is arm. "You're a good man, Julius," she said gently. "Come back to the bureau with me. They'd still take you. You could get help."

He laughed bitterly. "A desk job and fed shrinks. That's a whole different type of zombie life, Winnie," he said weakly.

She sighed. "I like the idea of a world with you still in it, Pepperwood, but this path you're on is an end-game," she said. Winnie walked slowly to the door, but stilled with her hand on the knob. "Maybe I can get you one more set of the antidote, Julius, but then you are done. Either you come in, or hang it up. I can't watch you self-destruct. You'll take too many people down with you." She gave one more look to the hallway. "She seems like a nice kid."

Julius looked at her. "Winnie," he said quietly. "If this is it for me, do me a solid and keep an eye on her, will you?"

Winnie nodded and opened the door. "And Julius, if you ever call me Winifred again, I will shoot you." She gave him a small smile and closed the door behind her.

Julius laughed softly. _An end-game_, he thought. Winnie was right. Ever since he'd come back from Masonville, all Julius had done was throw himself in the line of fire, then drink to forget how recklessly stupid he was. _And now there is Jessica_. She'd followed him into a hellhole, saved his life and gotten socked in the face for her trouble. And that kiss…that might have been the most dangerous thing either of them had done in the past 48 hours.

Standing up slowly, Julius knew there was no way he could take her down with him. He was going after Schiller, and something told him the Grimwold kid was the key. Making his way to the door, he reached in the small bowl where he usually left his keys. Looking down at the table, he realized it was empty.

"Going somewhere, cowboy?" Jessica asked from behind him. Julius turned, bracing himself for what he had to do. But one look at her and the words jumbled in his head. She strode toward him wearing an old pair of sweats – HIS sweats – and one of his faded Bears T-shirts that hung almost to her knees. She had pulled her long, wet hair over to one side, and her cheeks were pink from the heat of the shower. It took everything in him not to yank her into his arms and put a blush on her cheeks for a whole different reason. "You need some rest, Julius," she said softly, and moved to place her hands on his chest. He quickly moved away.

"Look, doll, there is stuff I gotta do," he said as coolly as he could. "I think it would be best if you grab a cab and skitter on home now."

Her brows furrowed for a moment. "What did Agent King tell you?" she asked carefully.

He shook his head. "Nothing you need to worry your pretty, little head over, Knight," Julius said, placing as much condescension in the words as he could muster. "Now where are my keys?"

Jessica folded her arms, and lifted her chin, leveling him with a defiant look. "You are not going anywhere, Julius Pepperwood."

Julius rolled his eyes. "Look, doll, you've had your bit of fun slumming on the wild side, but now you need to go home." He grabbed her arm and guided her toward the door, but she yanked her arm free of him.

"A bit of fun?" she yelped. "You call taking wrestling with a criminal and watching you suffer through agony 'a bit of fun?'" Seeing the spark of anger flash in her eyes, mixed with … what? hurt? … slugged Julius as if she'd punched him in the stomach. Keeping his resolve, he simply shrugged.

"He was a fed, Knight," he said, and tossed her his best attempt at an offhanded laugh. "What do you think would have happened if he WAS a real criminal? You would not have lasted more than a few seconds."

Her large, blue eyes narrowed and she sucked in a breath. He could tell a strong retort danced on her lips, when she suddenly stopped. Giving him a curious look, Jessica slowly smiled. "I'm not going anywhere, Julius," she said simply and began to walk back to the hallway. She turned and added, "and neither are you."

She receded into the bedroom, and Julius clenched his hands into tight fists. Steeling his resolve, he said a silent apology to her before he stormed into the bedroom where she'd disappeared. _This is for your own good, kid_, he thought.

Jessica slipped her tattered dress onto a hangar she found in the closet and hanged it on a hook. She was running her hands along the side, sizing up the tear, when Julius grabbed her. He roughly shoved her against the wall by the closet, sending a shocked gasp from her lips.

"You think this is a game, doll?" he sneered. Her eyes widened slightly, and Julius suspected he saw a spark of fear. _Good_, he thought. "This is no game. And there is no way in hell you are coming with me. You will only be in my way."

The look of hurt was apparent in her eyes now, but the sparkle of defiance returned. Frustrated, Julius slammed his fist into the wall by her head. She jumped, but remained where she was. "I don't want some green, civilian _kid_ around now, you got that?" he growled. Tears formed on the edges of her big eyes, and Julius felt his resolve waiver for a moment. _Come on man_, he thought. _Get her the hell out of here._ "Just get out, Knight. And leave my damn keys."

He shoved himself away, but kept his even gaze on her. She bit her lower lip, and he could tell she was trying to stop it from quivering. But instead of bursting into tears or running away, she took a step closer to him. Julius stiffened and leaned back instinctively. Jessica reached up slowly, carefully, as if she was approaching an animal in the wild, and placed her hands on his cheeks. His breath caught under her touch, the need to pull her to him so great he almost surrendered to it. "Julius," she whispered.

The imploring tone in her voice shook him to the core, but also reminded him of how much he needed to protect her, keep her from danger – from_ him_. He grabbed both her arms again, and pushed her up back to the wall. "You don't get it, do you?" he hissed at her, and she flinched as his fingers dug into her arms. "This is it for me, my _end-game_. I'm not coming back from this, Jessica. So you need to get out, NOW," he yelled.

She flinched again, the tears streaming down her face freely now. For a moment, he thought Jessica would fight him, but eventually she nodded slowly. Julius' whole body relaxed, though her simple action broke the last bit of his heart that had survived all the Zombie Days. He dropped his arms as a combination of relief and defeat rushed over him. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes. "Now go," he whispered with the last of his resolve.

Jessica watched him for a moment, then launched herself into his arms. Julius staggered back a few paces, taken completely by surprise. Without a word, she pulled his head roughly to her and looked into his eyes. Before he could respond, she caressed his lips once with her own. The feather-like touch of her mouth sent shivers through him. Julius reached up to push her away, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, deepening the kiss with a rough desperation.

The longing that had been coursing through him exploded. "Damn it," Julius muttered, and pushed her once again to the wall, this time pouring all his anguish into kissing Jessica. His hand moved to her still-damp hair as he locked her head in place and let his tongue invade her mouth. She whimpered and clung tighter to him as her body responded to his. _This is the last time. This is goodbye, _he told himself as he let his hands wander down her curves. "Julius" she gasped.

His eyes snapped open as her voice brought him back to reality again. "No!" he shouted and pushed himself away from the wall. His breath rasped as he tried to regain control. "You need to go, Jessica," Julius choked out the words, refusing to look at her. He could feel his strength draining away at the truth of his words. He collapsed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You need to go," he said, though this time it only came out as a whisper.

Julius looked at the floor, and waited to hear the sounds of her feet leave the room. Instead she knelt before him. She pushed a hand through his tangled hair and sighed. "Go where, Julius? My heart is here, so where else can I go?" He locked eyes with Jessica as the meaning of her words sank into his head.

Shaking his head, Julius mumbled, "No Jessica. You need to go and have a life, any life, far away from all of this."

Jessica gave him a sad smile. "But this is my life. For the past two years I have watched you save people, keep them safe without them even knowing. I've watched you hate yourself for not doing more." She brought up her other hand and gently touched a small scar on his forehead. "And for two years I've done all I could to make your life a little better, knowing that was the only way I could help. If I am taking care of you, then somehow I am taking care of all those people, too." She stopped and looked down. "But I fell in love with you, Julius. And every time you passed out at your desk or were gone for days at a time, I felt like maybe I was there with you. And if you had me there with you, then maybe you would not be alone."

When she looked up at Julius, the tears shone bright in her eyes. "It's too late for me, too, Julius. I'd rather go into hell with you than be anywhere else." Jessica slid herself up and wrapped her arms around him again, sitting on his legs. "So the only thing you can do now is live as long as you can, Julius. So I can be with you as long as I can," she whispered and kissed his temple.

Julius fought for breath as he felt her lips press to his forehead. "Jessica," he said in a strangled voice. But she shook her head.

"Sleep now, Julius," she said quietly, and guided him back on his bed.

He turned to look into her eyes, a loss for words. "Jessica," he whispered again, and this time the word came out in awe.

She smiled warmly. Brushing his hair with one hand, she wrapped the other around his waist. "Just sleep," she said, and Julius closed his eyes, knowing he could never deny her anything.


	10. Nick Miller and a master

Nick Miller, crafter of zombie detective novels, sat on a park bench, slowly picking the large granules of salt from his oversized, soft pretzel.

"I don't know, man. Do you think Julius would give it all up for Jessica?" He flicked a piece of salt, watching it skip across the broken pavement. "I mean, not my Jessica, this is HIS Jessica." He looked at his companion, who sat with a knowing smile. "Okay, okay, maybe it IS my Jessica as well." He shut his eyes tight, then peeled one eyelid open. "Now, don't look at me like that. I am not saying I want to give anything up!" He stared at his friend for a second, then cringed. "ARRRGH! You are right! I do want to change for Jess, I do want to just BE a better guy because of her. How do you know me so well, Tran?"

The Vietnamese man continued to smile and occasionally nod at Nick. The pretzel Nick bought him lay in its paper wrapper on the bench, next to an unopened container of dipping cheese. Watching him, Nick remained in awe of how serene the little man appeared. "You've got it all together, don't you, Tran? I just want to be like that. To know what it is I want. What do I WANT, man?"

With a tilt of Tran's head, Nick rolled his eyes. "Of course I want to be with Jess. How could you even ask me that? You know I've wanted to be with her for a long time, maybe even longer than I knew." Tran's head bobbed in a small nod and he watched a woman walk by with her dog. Nick's eyes bulged. "You are RIGHT! That is probably why I never liked Paul, and why I set her up with Bear Claw, who was TOTALLY not her type. Maybe something inside me knew I wanted Jess, but the other part of me thought I wasn't good enough for her and kept pushing her toward guys like Russell. Man, now HE had it all together."

Tran glanced up at the trees, then back to Nick, and smiled again. "You are SO right!" Nick practically yelled. "He may have seemed perfect for her – and believe you me, he was a beautiful man – but she didn't want Russell. SHE broke up with HIM. Which means maybe part of her wanted me, too. GOD, you are GOOD!" He gave the smiling man a light punch on the arm before looking down. "Hey, where did my pretzel go?"

Nick glanced over at Tran, who was brushing a leaf from the bench. Nick shook his head. "All right, all right, don't get mad, man. I see what you are saying. There might be stuff I can change to be better, but I should not try and make myself into someone I'm not. Jess is not with Paul or Russell or Sam. She is with ME. Soooooo, there must be something about ME she likes."

Jumping up for the bench, Nick bent over and kissed the aging man on the head. "You are a master, Tran. A master!" And with that, he dashed back to the loft, leaving Tran with a smile.

**_Sorry, I could not help but give a nod to the great disappearing pretzel Nick held and then suddenly did not hold in one of his funniest conversations with Tran on the park bench in First Date. Seriously, where did his pretzel go?_**


	11. Promises and wolf paws

Julius closed his eyes as the hot water cascaded down over his sore muscles. _Yup_, he thought. _It's time. _

He woke up earlier to the sounds of Jessica clattering around in the kitchen. Lying there for a moment, Julius realized how good it felt to have her there, doing something so ordinary as fixing breakfast. In fact, Julius felt _good_ for the first time he could remember.

Making his way to the bathroom, he pulled out his shaving kit, and caught sight of himself in the mirror. The bruises from the Grimwold fight were starting to fade, but he still resembled the wrong end of a battering ram. Julius sighed. _That girl has to be certifiable to be in love with a guy like me,_ he thought. And then it hit him. _She loves me. _

Julius pressed his palms on the cool, bathroom counter to steady himself as an unfamiliar sensation jolted him. A slight dizziness took hold and Julius felt something pull at his insides, like an anxious breath of air waiting to escape. He locked eyes with his reflection in the mirror. Somewhere swimming in his bloodshot gaze, Julius saw it – _hope_. It was pure hope that ran through his veins. Jessica Knight had given Julius Pepperwood, detective of the undead, hope for something more.

A slow smile crept across his lips as he shed his torn shirt. The rest of his clothes matched its state, but he hardly noticed as he shoved them off. Julius ducked into the shower, thinking that yesterday he had been willing to push the best thing that ever happened to him right out of his apartment. But today, as the sounds of Jessica humming in the kitchen drifted toward him, he saw new paths to be taken, _choices _that could be made.

Showered and clean-shaven, Julius strode into the kitchen in his khakis and a white shirt rolled up to his elbows. Jessica cut an orange in half and placed the pieces on two plates in front of her. Julius noticed she was now sporting his old Erik Kramer jersey and a different pair of sweats. He spun her around by the hips, pulled her close and into a deep and satisfying kiss. "Hi handsome," she whispered, brushing her fingers through his still-damp hair. He winked and kissed her on the nose.

"Did you buy pans?" he asked, leaning over the stove.

She glanced at him. "No, they were in the bottom cabinet."

He shrugged. "Must have come with the place," he mumbled, and Jessica rolled her eyes. Julius peeked into the frying pan. "Why Knight, I hate to tell you this, but something green and orange is swimming in your eggs."

She smiled and nudged him with her hips. "It's called spinach and orange pepper, and don't worry, I bought Tabasco, so you won't taste THAT either."

"You want some coffee?" he asked, already pulling down two mugs from a cabinet. She nodded as he tried not to grin at how _damn domestic_ it all felt. Sliding the plates onto his rickety table, Jessica flapped a napkin on her lap. "So," she asked, "what's on tap for today?"

Cracking open the new bottle of Tabasco, Julius splashed the sauce on his colorful eggs. "Well, as much as I'm sure the Bears appreciate your support, I'm also sure you'd like to change, so we'll swing by your place," he said, smiling. _Not to mention the fact that you look way too good wearing my stuff,_ he thought. Julius had already promised himself he would take it slow with Jessica. He had made a decision this morning, and a big part of that was making sure he gave her the time she needed.

Jessica took a bite of her toast, "No, I meant on the case," she said, talking around the toast in a way Julius decided _definitely_ fell in the category of adorable. She swallowed the toast and continued. "Agent King came here last night because they were tracking the distribution center. So I am assuming you are going to talk to Johnny Grimwold, who was _using_ said distribution center. He's still in County lockup, right?"

The forkful of eggs froze halfway to Julius' mouth. He paused for a moment before he answered slowly, "The Grimwold case is done, Knight."

Her brow furrowed. "You seemed in a pretty big hurry to chase down a lead last night," she said.

Julius frowned. He had a general idea of what he wanted to tell her, but hadn't had time to think of _how _to say it. Jessica had to know how important she was to him, and this was the best way he could let her know. He shrugged, and did not notice Jessica placing the rest of her toast carefully on her plate.

Jessica brushed her hands off lightly. Daintily propping her elbows on the table, she eased her chin onto her hands. "You were not thinking of _leaving _me at my apartment, were you, Julius?" she asked a little too sweetly. He blinked at her, but did not respond.

Leaning back and crossing her arms, Jessica leveled him with a steady look. "I told you last night that I am not going anywhere, buddy. If you're thinking of just dumping me off at my apartment while you race off to fight zombies, think again. There is no…."

"I'm thinking of _not_ fighting zombies, Knight," he said, popping the egg into his mouth and giving her a small grin.

"What?" she asked.

He scooped a large blob of jelly with a knife and plopped it on his toast. "I said, I am thinking of not fighting zombies, or juice dealers, or undead low-lives of any kind." He smiled and took a big bite of toast.

Julius had not known what kind of reaction his grand announcement would elicit, but it certainly was not watching Jessica's eyes narrow and her slowly rise from the table. "That is low, Julius Pepperwood," she murmured, and stormed to the door, snatching up her purse.

"Wait, what?" he jumped up after her.

Jessica yanked open the door, but Julius reached around her and slammed it shut. "Where are you going? Why are you so mad?"

She stayed staring at the closed door. "I am going to see Grimwold. I am going to find out why the feds are interested in him," she said through gritted teeth, before spinning to face him. "And _you_ will stop acting like I am some little girl to hide away or be shielded."

Julius placed his hands gently on her arms. "Knight, I don't want to hide you away. I am trying to tell you that I am _done_. I am giving this up, being a zombie PI."

"Why?" she yelled.

Her accusing tone made something in his snap. "Golly, I don't know, Knight! Maybe I'm sick of being a human punching bag, or maybe I almost died _again_ the other night, or maybe I just want to be someone who is _good enough_ for someone like you."

The anger vanished from her flashing eyes, and her expression softened. She stared at him for a moment in stunned silence. Then, stepping closer to him, she said, "Julius," with a loving laugh, "that is the sweetest, most romantic, and possibly the most misguided and ridiculous thing I have ever heard." She bushed her hand along his cheek and drew his face to hers. "You are who you are." She kissed him lightly and sighed. "I must admit, ditching the excessive drinking and the punching bag aspect would be nice." She kissed him again, this time a bit slower. "But I would _never_ ask you to be someone you are not, Julius Pepperwood. Do you understand that?"

He held her gaze for a moment, uncertainty crossing his features. _You are who you are_. But how was he, Julius Pepperwood, ever going to be good enough for her? Staring into those infinite, blue eyes, a thought drifted into his head, quiet and whispering. _Maybe you are enough_. He wanted to shove the idea back down, scoff at it, but something in her eyes made him hope, _hope_, it might be true. Finally, he slowly nodded and leaned his forehead until it rested softly against hers. "If anything happened to you, Knight, nobody would have to find a way to take me out, I'd already be as good as dead," Julius whispered.

She smiled. It was a Jessica-Knight special - the thousand-watt smile. "Then how about this? I'll keep an eye on you, you keep an eye on me?" she said.

Instead of replying, he pushed her gently up against the door. Running his hands slowly down her arms, he pressed her hands flat against the grainy wood. Lifting his own hands to either side of her face, Julius bent down and captured her lips in his own. This kiss was slow, almost tortuous, and he wanted it that way – for the two of them to somehow brand one another with lips and tongue and teeth. Only their mouths met in unspoken promises. By the time he pulled away, she was flushed and breathless.

After a moment Jessica smiled. "So, Julius, do you know where I want to go?" A devious smile pulled at her lips. She looked down for a second before matching his gaze with a mischievous twinkle. "To see Johnny Grimwold at County." She reached into her purse, whipped out the keys and jingled them in front of him. "I'll race you to Sally."

Julius took a deep breath as he watched Jessica dash out the door, giggling. _That is some woman you got there, Pepperwood_, he thought. Snatching his jacket, he paused. "Wait, did you _name_ my car Sally?" he called, and raced after her.

~J&J~

The officers at County knew Julius well, and let him borrow an interrogation room to talk to Johnny Grimwold, though one of the officers stayed with them. Officer Tram was older, but everything about him gave off a feeling of serenity and calm. He gave Jessica a friendly wink as they waited for Grimwold. "You be careful of what this guy tells you," he said with a laugh. "I've known him since he was a juvenile delinquent," he said.

Jessica laughed and gasped in mock horror. "Julius? I imaged him as an altar boy with a halo permanently on his head."

Julius rolled his eyes as Tram chuckled. "First time I met this youngster, he tried to steal my watch," he said, giving Julius a wide smile.

"Tried?" said Julius. "I not only stole your watch, but had you run three blocks to get it back." He looked at Jessica's wide-eyed expression. "I gave him back the watch," he said with a sigh. "Of course, it was about a week later when I finally gave him back his wallet."

She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "You stole a policeman's wallet?"

"I was 12!" he laughed, shrugging. "It was a bit of a family adventure."

Tram gave him a knowing nod. "Julius' dad was a great grifter. Lucky for me, he was also willing to help out on a case or two. He only rolled on the guys who hurt weaker folks or beat their wives and kids, but it helped us in a few big cases."

Julius gave a small laugh. "Yeah, dad had a code of his own." He looked at Jessica, pondering something for a moment, then smiled. Leaning forward nodded at her wrist. "I really like your watch," he said.

"Oh thanks … Hey," she said, looking down, her watch was gone. She turned to see Julius dangling the watch in front of her.

"See, some dads teach their kids how to play catch with a baseball, mine showed me a bit differently," he said. With a flick of his wrist, he scratched his ear with his hand – now watchless. Jessica glanced at her wrist, and the slender gold timepiece was back. "Nifty, eh?" he said, his eyes filled with laughter.

Tram glanced at Julius, and a sadness flickered in his brown eyes. "It was a sad day when we lost your dad."

Julius rubbed his chin and nodded. In response to Jessica's curious look he said, "Dad was on the wrong end of a deal gone bad. I was 15, and I knew I had to take care of my mom, so I came to Tram here. Told him to get me on the right path," he shot a smile at his friend. "Of course, mom got sick a couple of years later, but she knew I made it into the academy before she went."

He looked over to see Jessica biting her lip again, but this time he recognized the slight quiver there. Julius rolled his eyes. "Cut it out, Knight," he growled playfully.

"What?" she asked, blinking back a couple of tears.

"Quit gawking at me with those big, saucer-like, blue eyes," he said, batting his eyelashes. Hitching up his voice in an imitation of her, he added, "And stop the, Oh-Poor-Julius-His-Childhood-Sucked face." She slapped his arm lightly and he laughed.

"Shut up," she said, but he saw a smile tug at the corner of her lip.

The door opened and another officer brought in a very nervous Johnny Grimwold. "Hey, you're not my dad," he yelled, and immediately began pacing the small room. "I know my dad is coming, so you better not mess with me."

Julius sighed. He hoped Grimwold had just been hopped up on something the night he took down his goons, but it seemed his hyper and agitated manner was simply part of his makeup. The son of banking magnate Harold Grimwold, the kid had connections, but also a healthy dose of stupid. "Calm down, Johnny. We're just here to ask you a couple of questions," Julius said.

"I don't have to answer anything, and my name is NOT Johnny," he barked.

"Actually, you do," said Tram quietly. "You signed a release earlier when we asked if you wanted to talk." He looked at the boy with patience and a touch of his customary indulgence. "Now, what would you like us to call you?"

Johnny jumped on a table. "I am Wolf Paw!" He pulled up his shirt, which was already pushing at the seams to contain his unruly and oversized stomach. "See?" He showed a picture of a tattoo. "It's a wolf's paw, like an eagle claw or a bear claw. Cool, right?" He waited for some acknowledgement of the markings. Turning toward Jessica, he smiled. "Whoa. Who are you?" He jumped off the chair and pointed to Julius. "That crazy guy hit my friends, but you wouldn't hit my friends, would you?"

Julius opened his mouth to tell the kid to quit drooling on Jessica, when he felt her hand ease against his side. She smiled at the knucklehead known as Johnny/Wolf Paw. "That's right. I'm Jessica, and I would never hurt your friends," she said sweetly. "I just wanted to know about some friends of mine who work at a grocery store on Morrissey."

Wolf Paw slid into a chair. "Those guys? They are such losers. I used to have Hank get my stuff from them." He sniffed and glanced at Julius. "You broke Hank's nose, you know."

"My condolences," muttered Julius.

"Yeah, well, I stopped using them to get my ingredients once Hank figured out where the there was a fresh source, right off the burners," Wolf Paw said. "I went straight to the source, and dealt with that guy. He's the one who helped me figure out the formula to make guys stronger." He pointed to Julius. "They were _strong_, right?"

Julius felt his stomach clench, but nodded. "Yeah, they were strong. Of course, they were also a little undead," he added quietly. He felt another push from Jessica.

"Wolf Paw, do you know where the source is?" she asked sweetly.

Wolf Paw stared at Jessica. "My dad is coming to get me out of here soon. Then maybe we can go on a date?"

Jessica's smile waivered, but she leaned in. "Sure, Wolf Paw, but I would sure like to know where you find that great juice." He giggled. _The kid actually giggled_, Julius sighed, and it was all he could to not to give a repeat performance of the job he did on Hank to Wolf Paw.

The kid leaned over to Jessica and whispered. "The old warehouse behind the hospital on Grandview." Julius couldn't be sure, but he thought Jessica froze at the mention of the place, and when she pulled away, she looked pale.

Tram glanced out the door's dirty window, and nodded toward a couple of men approaching in suits that looked like they cost more than Julius made in a decade. "I believe your interview is over, Julius." He nodded and pulled Jessica to her feet.

"I think we got all we need here. Thanks, uh, Wolf Paw," he said. Guiding Jessica away from the room, he whispered. "Okay, Knight, what gives?"

She looked at Julius with a vacant expression. "I know how to get us into the warehouse," she said. Just by the look on her face, Julius knew he wasn't going to like her idea.


	12. Nick Miller meets with Danger

"Do I mean that little to you, Nicholas?"

Nick Miller, startled zombie novelist, jumped at the voice coming from his room. He flicked on the light switch to see Schmidt sitting cross-legged on his bed, surrounded by notebooks, with a pair of odd-looking goggles securely fastened to his forehead.

"What in the hell are you doing in here? And what is on your head?" Nick yelled, but Schmidt remained unmoving with an impassive look on his face.

Pointing to his head, Schmidt hissed, "This, _Nick, _is spelunking headgear. It is very effective with women who…."

"BLEH, never mind! Jar!" Nick hollered. He walked into his room and stared at the papers scattered on his bed. "Schmidt, did you _break _into my room to read my writing?"

Schmidt tossed a notepad carelessly in front of him. "If you can _call_ it writing, _Nick._ It's more like the scribbles of a drunken hobo._"_

Nick frowned and narrowed his eyes. "You have exactly three seconds to get the hell out of here, Schmidt." He grabbed the notepads and started stacking them.

Lifting his chin in indignation, Schmidt scooted clumsily off the bed. He strode slowly past Nick. Turning at the doorway, he looked back. "Why am I not in your book, Nick?"

"What?" Nick snapped, still staring at the notebooks.

"Your story. Why am I not in it?" Schmidt asked weakly. Nick jerked his head to him, and realized all of Schmidt's bravado had vanished. In its place was a look that resembled a wounded puppy. "I mean, Winston is there – and with a great rack, no less. Jessica is all over the place. Where am I? Do you think I'm too cool for the mean streets of Chicago?"

Nick sighed. "No Schmidt, I do not think you are _too cool_ for the book."

He jumped back to Nick, his eyes lighting up. "I could be a really sexy pimp, or the striking lieutenant who drove you to drink from jealousy," he said with excitement. "I even thought of a name for myself – Danger Striker."

"Danger Striker?" Nick did his best not to cringe.

Schmidt nodded. "I could burst in at the last minute and save the day."

Sinking down on the edge of his bed, Nick rubbed his face with his hands. "Okay, Schmidt, I'll put you in the book."

Schmidt practically danced to Nick. "And I get to save the day?"

Nick pursed his lips and nodded. "Oh yeah. You'll be a hero." Schmidt beamed, but his smile waivered when Nick stood up slowly and looked him in the eye. "Reading my stuff without asking is _not cool_, Schmidt. If you do it again, I will flush every jar of your hair goo down the toilet. Got it?"

His friend's eyes widened before his gaze dropped to the floor. "Okay, okay, it's all cool, man," he said quickly. "No reason to threaten the hair. Just stay cool." Schmidt began to back away slowly, then spun around. "All cool, says Danger Striker!" He smiled and ran out of the room.

Nick just shook his head.


	13. Goodbye, doll

"This is a _bad_ idea, Knight," Julius hissed in Jessica's ear. She ignored his statement, just as she had ignored the previous three times he's said it.

The two of them stood behind Jessica's very tall, very handsome, very doctorish ex-boyfriend, Stan. Julius seethed silently, tossing a scathing look the guy. They descended in an elevator to an underground entrance, which lead to the warehouse. Jessica recognized the location from Wolf Paw's words, only because it happened to be right behind where Stan worked, _as a freakin' pediatric surgeon_, Julius thought.

As soon as Jessica called, Stan willingly agreed to meet them at the hospital that evening as his shift was ending. He said he was _happy_ to show them the old entrance to the underground passageway.

Julius sighed. No amount of ranting or growling on his part had made a bit of difference. Jessica merely stuck out her chin and challenged him to think of a better plan. Julius knew she had him, but he could still put up a fight. They spent the rest of the afternoon with Julius demanding that Jessica learn how to shoot a gun. He dragged her to his firing range, but he was in such a foul mood that all he could do was snap at her. She finally slammed the gun down on the counter and marched out. In disgust, he charged up an old taser at his place and jammed it into her purse.

"That has _one_ charge in it, so use it on the right person," he told her, silently adding he hoped it was Stan who got the short end of the taser's fuse. She refused to talk to him the entire car ride over, except for the one moment Julius reached into his glove compartment and pulled out a watch. "Here," he said, tossing her the gold Rolex. "Put this on."

Jessica raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed. "It was from when I worked with the feds, doll," he said in a low voice. "It has a tracer on it. Just put it on so I know where you are." She looked at the watch for a moment as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"Don't call me 'doll' if you are going to say it like that," she said quietly, fastening the watch to her wrist. She looked out the windshield to see Stan leaning against the building.

Julius hated the look of the guy at once, all casual and cool, like he _expected_ her call. He especially hated Stan's smug expression at seeing Jessica climb out the car. _Happy_. He told Jessica he was "happy" to help her out as well as "that guy you work for." Julius cringed. _I'm a hell of a lot more than that, _he thought.

Watching her give a stinted smile at the doctor, Julius realized his entire relationship with Jessica consisted of a few incredible kisses, a near-death experience and two years of crappy pay and with a borderline alcoholic. Climbing into the elevator, he felt a sinking sensation that had more to do with his pride than their descent to the passageway.

Now, getting a good look at the towering Stan, Julius remembered that it was only a few days ago that Jessica had been pretty broken up about her split with the good doctor. And she had barely hesitated to call him for the case. Julius tried to push the idea of out his head that maybe – just maybe – he just happened to be the guy who was around when Stan dumped her. _What do they call that? A rebound?_ he thought glumly.

Julius knew what he felt for Jessica was the real deal, but what about what she felt? She said she loved him, but when had all that started? He'd never asked. And now was not the time to ask. He shook his head. _This _was not a good time for these thoughts, not when he had to get his head in the game – _a possible end-game_, a quiet voice in his head reminded him.

The metal doors slid open to reveal a dark, aged hallway. The walls has once been painted a hospital green, but faded from neglect into a grayish hue. Stan reached around a stack of old cardboard boxes that sagged with the weight of time. He hit a large lever, and the passageway crackled to life, bathed in flickering, fluorescent lights. Jessica and Stan stepped out carefully, keeping an eye for whatever skittered across the floor as the doors hissed closed. Julius rolled his eyes, and took the lead.

"I think it's just ahead," Stan said, his loud voice echoing off the vacant walls. Julius turned to tell him to keep it down, but saw Stan ease his hand under Jessica's elbow, helping her around a puddle on the floor. _They look natural together,_ that nagging voice told him. _Why in the hell did she go slumming with me? _Julius' narrowed his eyes, but kept moving forward.

Around a corner, Julius caught a light streaming from under a door. He held up his hand that made Stan and Jessica freeze. Easing his gun from its holster, Julius waved them slowly forward. They approached the door, and Julius tried the knob. It gave way easily under his gentle twist. With the tip of his gun, he signaled for her to step aside. She and Stan complied, and Julius quietly eased open the door to reveal a room filled with bubbling beakers and gleaming metal counter tops. A faint stench of chemicals wafted toward Julius as he carefully glanced in the door. The scene was eerily familiar. _The mad scientist's lab,_ he thought.

"Hello, Julius. Do join me," a voice called from the shadows of the laboratory.

Julius closed his eyes. _The mad scientist himself_, he thought. And Julius opened the door to see a well-dressed, older man seated on a stool in the middle of the lab. With his pepper-gray hair brushed perfectly to the side, he casually gripped a juice-dart gun in his well-manicured hands.

"Hello, Schiller," Julius said, and stepped through the door.

Ross Schiller smiled gently, his light-brown eyes glittering with a warmth that left Julius cold. "It's good to see you again, Julius," he said, watching Julius brush off his greeting with a short laugh. "I see you don't believe me, but it really is good to see you. Please," he motioned with the dart gun, "come in and sit down."

Julius entered the room, starting to close the door behind him. "Oh, now don't be rude, Julius, and leave poor Jessica in that dank hallway." Julius felt an icy fear clench his stomach. His one hope had been to get Jessica and away from here, away from danger. He was one second from slamming the door closed, and taking the zombie dart he knew was coming for him, when Jessica pushed open the door and strode in the room.

"Ah, Miss Knight, how lovely to see you," said Schiller, aiming the dart gun at Jessica. He raised an eyebrow at Julius, who immediately dropped his gun on the ground.

"I'm afraid you cannot stay, Miss Knight," Ross said, his voice tinged in regret. Rising from his stool, he added, "but I wanted to give Julius my assurances that Dr. Sweetley will take good care of you, and no harm will come to you." Jessica's eyes widened as Stan stepped up to her from behind, and took hold of her arm. She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.

"It's okay, babe," Stan said in a soothing voice. "Good news is, it was all a ruse. I wasn't really dumping you. Ross here just wanted you closer to Pepperwood."

"What are you talking about?" she yelled, and yanked her arm free of his grasp. Her eyes shot to Julius, who found he could only stare at her. _It's all coming down like this_, he thought. _This is the end-game._

"We got a plan," said Stan. "That formula he has? It can help. We are going to turn it into a cure for a rare form of cancer in children. I'll be able to make sick kids well, and you'll be right there with me. Cool, huh?" The anger in Jessica's blue eyes flashed, and Stan frowned at her apparent lack of excitement. "Look, don't be mad, I just had to break it off with you to get him here," he waved a hand at Julius. "But you got me now, babe."

"You are crazy," Jessica hissed, and stepped toward Julius, wrapping a hand around his arm. "What do we do?" she whispered in desperation.

Julius looked at her, and he hoped all he felt for her came through in that one look. "We say goodbye, doll," he said quietly, and offered her a sad smile. _At least she won't see me change_, he thought. _At least she'll be safe._

Jessica shook her head. "I'm staying with you," she said, the fear in her voice rising. "Julius?" she asked as Stan walked to her and gently placed his hands on her arm. "I'm staying with you, Julius!" Jessica yelled, struggling to free herself from Stan. Julius just gave a slight shake of his head. He did everything he could to memorize her in this moment – her eyes blazing, her cheeks flushed and his name on her lips.

Ross nodded at Stan, who picked her up and carried her toward the door. "No! Julius!" Jessica screamed. He watched as tears streamed down her face and hysteria seized her. "JULIUS!" He closed his eyes, hearing his name grow fainter as Stan hauled her back to the elevator.

"She will miss you," Ross said in his gentle tone, "as will I."

Julius let the bitterness slice through his laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure you will."

Ross walked carefully over to Julius. "You have no idea how much our dance has meant to me, Julius. You are not like all these other sheep. They all want quick fixes, so much so that they believe anything you tell them." He stopped just out of Julius' reach and smiled. "Howard Grimwold gave me money because he believed I could create a cure for his challenging son. Johnny Grimwold found me muscle because he believed the formula could make him strong. Stan Sweetly so wanted to find a cure for cancer that he believed I could change a deadly drug into a cure. But you and I, Julius, we work for what we want. We take the risks and we put ourselves in the line of fire. There are no quick fixes for us."

Julius snorted. "Yeah, we are practically twins." He glanced at Ross' wrist. "Nice watch ya got there. How many people did you turn into the undead for that?"

Ross looked at his watch, but his smile did not falter. "Thank you. It's an Omega," he said congenially. Then he sighed. "I know you need to make me into the bad guy here, Julius…."

"You _are_ the bad guy," Julius said evenly and leaned toward Ross. "You just need to convince yourself that you're not. And you want to do that by convincing me that you aren't bad, just good at manipulating dumb people." Now Julius smiled. "Well, congrats, doc, 'cause that describes every megalomaniac, psycho out there."

Ross frowned. "You have always lacked vision, Julius." He stepped away. "Just so you know. I made sure not to keep any antidote here, so please do not shame yourself by looking for it." He raised the dart gun. "I am sorry. I will miss seeing you fight the _good_ fight, but tell me, did you really think it would end any differently for you?"

Julius gave him a half-smile. "No," he said simply, and looked Schiller in the eye.

At that moment, a scream came from the hallway, Julius turned to see Jessica fly toward him in a blur. She tackled Julius at top speed, crashing them both to the ground.

"Knight, what in the hell are you doing?" Julius yelled. He looked past her to see Schiller dash through a back door.

"I'm saving your life, you complete idiot!" she cried. She sat up and punched him in the chest – hard.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For trying to _die_ on me, you imbecile!" she screamed. He stopped for a second and started to laugh. She gave him one more punch before collapsing into a laugh as well.

"Where is the doc?" he asked, glancing toward the elevator.

She shrugged. "You said to use my one taser charge wisely," she said.

He laughed out loud. "You okay, Knight?" he asked, helping her up.

She grabbed his arm. "I thought I was 'doll,'" she said with a grin. Looking down, she brushed off her dress. "I think I may have hurt my…."

Julius followed her gaze, and horror crashed into him. Sticking out of her leg was the zombie juice dart. She slowly moved her eyes to his. "Oh babe, I hope you can drive," she whispered.

~J&J~

Julius slammed his foot into the front door for the third time. On the fourth kick, he aimed for the knob and heard the crack of the wood as he burst into the house. Carrying a moaning Jessica in his arms, Julius yelled at the top of his lungs. "Schlip! Where in the hell are you?"

As soon as he ripped the dart from Jessica's leg, Julius saw the pain beginning to course its way through her. Sweeping her into his arms, he dashed back to the elevator and jumped over the inert figure of the unconscious doctor.

Julius eased Jessica into the car and slammed it into gear. _We have one hope_, he thought. The hospital where Stan worked didn't carry the antidote – an irony that bit into Julius' gut as he flew through traffic. But he had an old friend near by – one he knew was an antidote mule for some shady people. During his days as a fed, he'd looked the other way for his friend, and he silently prayed he was still in business.

"Jeez, Pepperwood, in a bit of a hurry, are we?" D. Schlip practically slid into the room, covered in oil from head to foot. "I was in the middle of an erotic massage with my favorite girl, Fifi. To what do I owe this _unannounced_ pleasure?" Standing in nothing but tiny, black shorts, Schlip's dark eyes skidded past Julius, to the crumbling mess of his door. "Julius, _what_ did you do? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get wood shipped all the way from Morocco for a perfect door?"

A shout of pain erupted from Jessica, and her grip around Julius' neck tightened. Schlip's eyes shot to her. "Is she sick? Do NOT let her get ill in here, Julius. I _mean _it. That rug is Persian." Julius eased Jessica onto one of the black couches, and turned to Schlip.

"I need the antidote," he said, nearly cringing at the desperation in his voice. Schlip's eyes widened.

"She is juiced? And you brought her _here_?" he nearly squeaked in anger. "You have to get her OUT of here."

Julius shook his head. "The nearest antidote hospital is too far away. She needs it, _now_," he yelled. Schlip shook his head timidly.

Jessica gripped the edge of the couch. "Julius," she gasped. He could tell the poison was eating its way toward her heart. A helpless anger seized him. _Not her. Please no,_ he thought, and grabbed Schlip by his thick, wavy hair. "Give her the damn shots, Schlip, or so help me, I will end you."

"Why don't you take your hands off my man?" a calm and sultry voice came from the corner. An olive-skinned woman with long, flowing black hair glided into the room. The only accessories she had on were a red, silk robe and the gun she pointed straight at Julius. He leveled a look at her, but refused to release Schlip.

"Ow! Not the hair!" Schlip whimpered. "It's okay, Fifi. Julius is an old friend."

"Some friend," Fifi muttered. Jessica moaned with an anguish that sliced into Julius. He tossed Schlip's head free and kneeled to her. "It's okay, doll. I'm right here."

Fifi looked down at Jessica. "Is she juiced?" Her head whipped to Schlip. "Get her the antidote before she goes all zombie on us!"

Schlip smiled sheepishly. "The thing is, my darling flower, it isn't really my stuff, and I can't just give it away, not to anyone who just wanders in off the street." He looked down at Julius, who was pushing the hair tenderly from her face. "Though I guess she isn't just anyone, is she Julius?" he asked quietly.

Julius stood up, facing Schlip. "Please," he said, knowing his voice was cracking at the effort. "Please, Schlip. I am begging you. _Help_ her." Schlip looked at him for a beat, then nodded.

"My exotic tulip? Could you get me the black box that is in the Steinway?" he gestured toward the large, grand piano in the corner of the room. Fifi grabbed the box and hurried to him.

"Poor kid," she muttered as she handed the box to Schlip.

Schlip looked at Julius. "Hold her down tight. You know this will not be pleasant." He unwrapped the first syringe, flicked the edge and jabbed it onto Jessica's leg. A high-pitch scream rushed from her lips, and it felt as though her entire body tried to lift off the couch at once. Julius struggled to keep her in place, but she bucked against his arms as her limbs flailed wildly. Fifi bent over and worked in a fruitless effort to capture her legs.

"Hurry up, baby," Fifi shouted over Jessica's screams.

Julius knew every thrust of pain that poured into Jessica. Her face squeezed into a disjointed mask of sweat and agony. He gripped her, frantically willing the pain to flow from her body into his hands. "Hang on, Jessica," he yelled, cursing himself with every cry that fell from her lips. "You are _not _leaving me, not now. You fight this. You hear me? Fight!" he screamed.

A strangled cry bubbled on her lips and her eyes started to glaze. "Schlip!" Julius yelled just as his old friend slammed the second syringe into Jessica. She shot up, gasping and coughing for air. Suspended upright for a moment, Jessica slowly smiled at Julius. She reached for him, but waivered and collapsed on the couch. He leaned over her and gently stoked her cheek. "It's all right now, doll. You're safe," he whispered.

Schlip flopped his back on the front of the couch and patted Fifi's leg. "Life with you is never dull, baby," she said. He smiled.

Julius stood and lifted Jessica up gingerly in his arms. "I've got to get her to a hospital," he said.

"A hospital?" Schlip squeaked. He jumped up and stood in front of Julius. "But they will ask questions, and bring around the feds. I look awful in orange, prison jumpsuits, Julius."

Julius shook his head. "I'll leave your name out of it, Schlip. Don't worry. The feds will never hear of Danger Schlip." His friend visibly relaxed. Julius adjusted Jessica in his arms and reached into his coat pocket. "Here, this should go a ways to help with the cost. Ya know I'm good for the rest."

Schlip looked at the watch Julius placed in his hand. "An Omega?" He gave Julius a discerning glance. "You are moving up in the world, my friend." Julius gave him a slight roll of his eyes and headed for the door.

Jessica mumbled something as Julius eased her back into the car.

"What, doll?" he asked, leaning in close.

"No hospitals," she said faintly. "You'll lose Pepperwood Investigations."

Without replying, he secured her into the worn seat belt. Pushing the hair gently from her face and tucking it behind her ear he thought, _I almost lost something much more important_.


	14. Nick Miller has quite a woman

Nick Miller, worn out zombie novelist, sat in a faded lawn chair on the roof of his apartment. He was dozing in the warm sun, notepad on his lap.

"Hey you," a quiet voice called him from his dream. He sniffed awake and looked up to see the beautiful, blue eyes of his girlfriend. "Thought maybe you'd be here," Jess said.

"Hey," he answered groggily, and stretched in the chair where he fell asleep. Last night had been a rough one at the bar. Two fights broke out, the final one ending with a call to the police. "Full moon," said Big Bob by way of explanation. "Drunk idiots," Nick replied.

Jess slid into the chair beside him and closed her eyes, letting the LA sun fall on her porcelain skin. "How's old Julius doing?" she asked in a lazy tone.

"He'll live," Nick yawned and shook his head, trying to wake up.

Jess smiled. "Good," she said. Opening one eye, she peeked at Nick. "You know, Schmidt is downstairs now trying on different outfits for his character. He's convinced that 'Danger' would only wear gray."

Nick sighed. "This thing has gotten so far outta hand." He pushed a hand through his ruffled, brown hair. "Maybe I should just ditch it."

Jess closed her eyes again and leaned back in the chair. "Not before I get to read it, bub," she said.

Nick's stomach clenched at the thought of Jess actually sitting down and reading what he wrote. "Um, yeah. It's not that good, Jess," he said with a laugh.

Jess peeked at him, shading her eyes with her arm. "So what? It's something you did. I'd like to read it."

He sighed. "It's just…I'm not…it's not ready," he stammered. She gave him a curious look. "Look, Jess. It's just…you know… a jumble of ideas. And if you put an idea out there, you can't…you know…take it back."

Jess smiled slowly. "Take _what_ back, Nick?"

"The _idea_," he said. "You know, if you hear an idea, and it comes out wrong, or like it's too much, then _that's _what you remember. You think how wrong it is."

She bit her lip and scrunched her face in the way Nick found adorable. "Are we still talking about the book?"

"Yes!" he said loudly, suddenly sitting up. "This is just something really personal and if you are not ready to hear it, then when it comes out…when I say it…it could just be _wrong_. And then you won't want to hear anything like that from me again, even when you _are _ready."

Jess slid a hand onto Nick's knee. "If it's from you, then I will want to hear it," she said. Seeing her expression, Nick knew this was about more than the book. It was the same expression she'd given him when she was trying to leave to meet Teddy. It was a look that said she was waiting for him to _say_ something – something more.

Nick flopped back on the chair and traced an invisible pattern on the notepad. "I know," he said quietly. "I just feel like once it's out there, then things might change. You might feel differently about…the book. It might not be what you want…to read."

Jessica stood up and slid onto Nick's lap. The frayed straps of the lawn chair creaked under the strain. "Whoa, Jess, this might be a bad idea," Nick laughed, but still wrapped his arms around her waist.

She eased her hands onto his chest. "Nick Miller, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," she said, and leaned in to brush her lips against his. I _want_ to read the book, but I want _you_ to be ready for me to hear it." She paused and stared into his wide, brown eyes. "I'll wait to hear it – for now."

Nick gulped and nodded slowly. Jess leaned her head against his chest and he sighed. _Quite a woman you have there, Miller_, he thought.


	15. Shiny gold watches and ultimatums

Julius concentrated on the dripping noise Jessica's IV made. His eyes followed the clear liquid as it made its way into her veins.

_I could have lost her_ – the thought kept echoing in his head. He squeezed her hand gently, as if the slight pressure could pull him back from the memory of her writhing in agony. _This is not the way it was supposed to happen._

It had been 10 hours since he carried her into the hospital. Federal protocol kicked in the moment he mentioned zombies. They hurried Jessica into isolation, but one look from Julius and they knew that isolation did not include him. He'd flashed his outdated federal ID and they backed off. He sighed. _One more thing Winnie won't like_, he thought.

The doctor told Julius she was all right, just dehydrated. He watched her rest in the large hospital bed. Unlike the constant babble he'd apparently showered her with while he was sleeping off the drug, Jessica remained unnaturally quiet.

Occasionally she would mumble his name. Each time it fell from her lips he would lean in, willing her to wake. But each time had been followed by a soft sigh and more excruciating silence.

The door to Jessica's room hissed open. Julius didn't have to look up to know it was Winnie standing near him. "You still look like hell, Pepperwood," she said, leaning against a wall. She glanced at Jess. "How's the kid?"

Julius rubbed his thumb absently across her soft hand. "She'll live," he said quietly. Winnie nodded. She walked to the edge of the bed and sat down gently, careful not to disturb the sleeping Jessica.

"So," she said slowly. "Thought you'd like to know that we picked up Schiller about nine hours ago. But I guess you knew that, since it was your tracer that led us to him," Winnie said, her eyes still on Jessica. Julius didn't respond.

The minute he'd seen Schiller in the lab, Julius had surrendered to the idea that he was not going to make it out alive. It had not been a surprising realization. Winnie had been right – he'd been on that trajectory ever since he came back from Masonville. At that moment, every ounce of his energy focused on two things.

The first priority was to get Jessica the hell out there. Thankfully, Schiller was so obsessed with seeing their little goodbye scene. That allowed her safe passage out, albeit with that dip of a doctor. Julius hoped Schiller enjoyed the moment of her goodbye. Personally, he had endured countless beatings, fought zombies, screamed his way through too many juice darts and seen things that could turn a man inside out. But watching Jessica being pulled away from him, knowing he would not see her again was the closest thing to a real death Julius ever experienced.

Part of him wanted to laugh. Julius knew life was a raw deal, and things never ended well for guys like him. But for a moment, for a few incredible days, Julius Pepperwood – former juvenile delinquent, former cop, and soon-to-be former member of the human race, had been loved by one Jessica Knight.

Though he knew he would never have the chance to tell her, Julius was certain that being loved by her was enough to make his whole, miserable life worth it. And how he felt about that one woman – that crazy, beautiful, stubborn, irrational woman – well, that was a feeling he hoped carried on to whatever lay next for him. Because he had a feeling that was the kind of love that could kick death in the teeth.

Staring at Schiller, as the guy rambled on about sheep and risks and some other garbage, Julius began on to focus on priority number two – getting his watch.

It had been so easy to lift his old fed-traced watch off Jessica as she grabbed for him, begging him to let her stay and die with him. _As if that was ever going to happen_, Julius thought with a sick determination in his gut. But she was gone, and all Julius had to do was get close to Schiller, close enough to switch the watches without him noticing.

"Nice watch ya got there…."

The guy finally stopped blathering for a second, and Julius took a chance. He leaned in and distracted Schiller with some razz-ma-tazz as he slipped the Omega off his wrist.

"You _are_ the bad guy…."

Julius ended his little speech by calling Schiller a psycho, knowing that would tick him off and get things moving along. He figured the guy knew his own juice, and would high-tail it out of the lab once he sent the dart flying. Even evil geniuses know not to tangle with their own creations.

_Damn_, Julius sighed as Schiller leveled the gun at him. _Too bad it's not just a regular bullet_. Of course, he figured it was some kind of karmic retribution for all the zombies he'd put down over the years. He could still see all the snarling faces that were once human – people who once breathed, tasted food, loved music, loved someone. _Jessica_. Julius held that one image in his head – her face, her smile, her laugh. _Jessica. _

It was then, of course, that she came charging from the hallway, screaming like a banshee, and took a zombie dart in the leg. Now, he stared at her pale form laying in the hospital bed. He ran a hand gently across her arm, but didn't answer Winnie.

His old partner leaned back against the metal edge of the bed. "They want to bring you back in, Julius. They are impressed."

Still facing Jessica, Julius shot Winnie an incredulous look. She sighed. "Okay, maybe they just want you off the streets and making them look bad, but they want you back." She looked at him. "Julius, it's over. Schiller is down, your contract won't be renewed because there is now a public record that can be followed. You need to come in, Pepperwood."

He remained motionless for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Not until she wakes up, Winnie," he said. "I won't let her wake up alone."

Winnie visibly relaxed and smiled. "Whatever you say, Julius." She eased off the bed and walked to the door. Looking back, she shook her head. "I always knew when you fell, it would be hard." She propped a shoulder against the open door. "I hear we have a smaller office in LA that might do you good," she said. "Could be room for a spunky, little receptionist as well."

Julius shook his head. "You were right, Winnie, about her getting caught in the crossfire." He held her hand tighter. "It's better for her if she's away from me, and better for me to know she's safe."

Winnie nodded and opened the door. "Good luck with that, Julius," she muttered. "I hear she is as stubborn as you." A smile ticked across Julius' lips as Winnie slipped out the door.

With the hiss of the closing door, Jessica's eyes fluttered. "Julius?" she whispered. He moved quickly to get her a glass of water, remembering how good it felt on his parched throat. She drank deeply.

"Looks like you're going to be all right, Miss Knight," he said, placing the cup down on the nearby table and smoothing out her blanket. He knew she was looking at him, but he could not bring himself to meet her gaze. Julius moved to stand up, reaching for the pitcher of water. "Looks like you need some more. Here, I'll get it."

Jessica lightly touched his arm and he stilled. "Julius," she said evenly. "Look at me." He lowered himself back to the chair, but avoided her eyes.

"Julius," she said again, trying for a firmer tone, but only managing a gnarled version of her chipper voice, She coughed and he grabbed the cup again. She turned her head away from the straw. "_This_," she whispered, "it _not_ your fault."

He shut his eyes tight and let out a small laugh without a trace of humor. "Sure, doll. I hear there are receptionists for plumbers and lawyers just down the hall from you," he said. She reached up and took the cup from his grasp, grazing her fingers against his. He sucked in a breath. "I'm sure glad you are okay, doll," he said softly.

Jessica whispered something so quietly, he couldn't understand her words. Furrowing his brow, he leaned over to her. "What, doll?" he asked.

In one quick move, Jessica pushed the cup of water on to the ground and grabbed Julius' face in her hands. Before he could protest, she tugged his mouth to her. His breath rushed from him once more as she moved her lips longingly against his. Julius knew he should pull away, but the feel of her was so extraordinary – the _life_ in her so amazing – he couldn't will himself to make her stop.

Jessica kneaded her fingers into his hair and whispered to him, "I _said_ you should be kissing me right now, you dolt."

Julius smiled against her cheek and closed his eyes, "Don't you think life would be a lot better for you if I wasn't around, kid?"

Jessica playfully bit his earlobe, making him gasp. "Uh huh," she said. Jessica leaned back to look at him. "Here's where you go all noble on me and push me away for my own good, and blah, blah, blah." She held up her hand to mimic his talking mouth. He was about to argue, when she pushed a finger on his lips. "Forget it Julius. I'm staying with you."

He stared at her a moment, realizing he was still leaning over her. He gulped and tried for his best shrug of nonchalance. "Who says I want you to stay?" he asked.

She smiled, took his shirt in her fists and pulled him back down to her. "I say you do," she said, planting a quick kiss on his lips. "And what's more, I say you need me. Which is a good thing because, Julius Pepperwood, I need and want you, too."

Julius hesitated for less than a second before he wrapped his arms around her and drew Jessica to him. Finding her lips, he kissed her with the same passion that had threatened to rip him apart when he feared he was losing her. He clung to her as if his life depended on it. _And maybe my life does_, he thought. Julius could not recall a day that really constituted "a life" until he met Jessica. He broke the kiss and imprisoned her face in his hands. "You sure, doll? 'Cause once we start down this path, I'm all in."

She kissed him gently. "Julius, I've been in love with you practically since the first day you growled at me in your office. Plus," she smiled. "I think I could make a good zombie-detective-in-training."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but you gotta learn to shoot a gun."

She frowned. "I think I'll do just fine with Ding Dong displays." He laughed, and she placed her forehead to his. "By the way, I love you, Julius."

"I know, doll," he said and kissed her. "I'm right there with you." He softly caressed her cheek. "Yeah, I'm all in."

Winnie King listened at the door with a smile on her face. She pulled out her cell and dialed. "He's coming back. Get the LA office ready," she said. Hanging up the line, she whispered. "Look out LA."


	16. Nick Miller is all in

Nick Miller, zombie novelist extraordinaire, typed the final words into his laptop. "The end," he said, and adjusted his blue, trucker cap.

Biting his lip, he sighed. "What do you think, Julius? You ready?" he asked the screen. He nodded.

"Hey Jess," he called. "Ya gotta sec? I want you to read something." He leaned back and waited for her. "Yep, I'm all in," he whispered.

**That's it for Pepperwood and Knight! Thanks so much for all your reviews and encouragement. I have to admit, I'm gonna miss the rough guy and his spunky doll! See you guys in The Land of FourDee soon.  
**


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